Play Date
by kfoster2519
Summary: Bella Swan is a 23-year-old single mom with a daughter who is 3 years old. Edward Cullen is a 27-year-old single father with a son who is 4 years old. The two meet one night at a get together with friends and family and hit it off.
1. An Idea

_**Full Summary:**__ Bella Swan is a 23-year-old single mom with a daughter who is 3 years old. Edward Cullen is a 27-year-old single father with a son who is 4 years old. The two meet one night at a get together with friends and family and hit it off. They end up talking about their kids and end up setting up a play date for them. What starts off as setting up a friend for their kids, turns into something totally different for the two parents. A/U, A/H, Canon._

_**A/N: **__Hello! Welcome to my new little project:, a fanfic called Play date. I am so excited to start writing in it because when the idea came to me, I was just like oh my God this is gonna be a blast to write. I will be making up a playlist for this story and it will be in my profile. Anyway, I will shut up now. Here is Chapter 1, it is called: __**An Idea.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities mentioned or pop culture references made in this story. _

_**Rating: **__M for language, themes, and later sexual content._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

"Lucy, it's time for your bath!" I called.

My daughter, Lucy, was sitting in front of the TV watching Dora the Explorer in her pajamas. She was trying to ignore me in order to avoid her bath.

I sighed and jogged toward my terrible three-year-old, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Do you want to have to take a bath in cold water, Lucy?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Then come on, silly goose! Let's get you clean!" I exclaimed, scooping her up and racing toward the bathroom. I quickly stripped her from her pink pajamas and gently placed her in the tub. She glared at me from the water.

"Mommy, I hate baths!" she squealed, attempting to stand up. I made sure she stayed in the tub.

"It will only take a minute. Don't make me get Uncle Emmett in here."

She pouted and settled down in the tub. She loved her Uncle, but ever since he accidentally used body scrub instead of shampoo on her hair, she hated getting baths from him.

I sighed and poured some warm water over her head, her blonde hair turning about five shades darker now that it was wet. She had inherited her hair color from her father, my ex-boyfriend Mike, but she had my brown eyes and mouth. I grabbed the shampoo and rubbed it into her scalp and hair before rinsing and continued on with her bath.

She was out of the tub and dry about ten minutes later. She was wiggling the entire time I put on her clothes for the day and it ended up taking ten more minutes until she was dressed.

Once I opened the bathroom door, she stumbled out into the living room in search of my brother, Emmett, and his girlfriend, Rosalie. Emmett and I had lived together since Lucy was born. I didn't have enough money to live on my own, and there was no way I would live with Mike. Emmett didn't mind having Lucy around, he adored her.

"Hey Goosey!" Emmett's booming voice rang out when he saw Lucy coming toward him. He had given her the nickname Goosey about two hours after she was born and it had stuck. He called her it simply because Goosey rhymed with Lucy.

Lucy grinned up at her muscly Uncle before reaching her arms up, an indication she wanted to be held. He bent down and scooped her up, Lucy giggled.

"Morning, Uncle Emmy," she said in her high voice. Lucy was the only one allowed to call my brother Emmy. He hated the nickname, but didn't mind it when Lucy called him that. He said it was because she was just too damn adorable.

Emmett smiled down at my little girl before glancing at me. "Were you giving your mom a hard time earlier?" he asked, faking annoyance.

Lucy pouted and batted her eyelashes at my brother. "No," she mumbled.

Emmett simply chuckled and set her down; tickling her before she scampered off back into the living room to watch some more cartoons.

I stepped into the kitchen where Emmett was standing now eating an apple and watching me. I tried to ignore his gaze as I slipped a Poptart in the toaster for Lucy and grabbed an apple for myself. I leaned against the counter and locked eyes with Emmett.

"What?" I asked.

"What are your plans for tonight, little sister?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I don't know, taking care of my daughter and sleeping."

He smirked. "No you're not. We are going out with Rose and her brother. He wants us to meet his girlfriend."

"And what am I supposed to do with Lucy? Bring her to the bar you probably arranged to have us go to?"

Emmett shook his head, an amused smirk on his face. "Of course not. I called Mike yesterday; he agreed to take care of her for the night."

I frowned. I wished Emmett had talked to me about this. I knew that Mike had all the right to see her, she was his daughter too, but I didn't know what he was like when he was with her. It was hard enough for me to give Lucy up for the one weekend of the month that he got to see her. Could I give her up for an extra day?

"I don't know, Emmett," I mumbled, taking the Poptart out of the toaster and putting it on a piece of paper towel, letting it cool off for a little bit before giving it to Lucy.

"Bella, she will be fine. Mike loves Lucy; he'll take great care of her."

I bit my lip and studied the counter before glancing back up at my brother who was now pouting in the most pathetic way. I tried desperately not to smile.

"Fine," I said in defeat, grabbing the Poptart off the counter and leaving Emmett to do his victory dance in the kitchen.

At around seven in the evening Mike stopped by to pick up Lucy.

"Hey Bella," he murmured when I opened the door. He knew by now not to try anything with me. I was so over and done with him it wasn't funny. It took him about two years after the birth of our daughter to realize this.

Lucy ran up from behind me and smiled brightly up at her father. "Hi daddy," she said.

Mike grinned down at Lucy before picking her up. I had explained to her earlier that she would be going to her daddy's tonight. She had been pretty excited.

I handed him her diaper bag since she had yet to be potty trained, and gave him a small smile. "Thanks for doing this, Mike."

"No problem. I miss my little girl."

I nodded. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He was the one who only wanted to see her once a month. "Anyway, uh, I'll probably pick her up at 11 or 12 tonight. I know it's late, but I hope you don't mind," I said.

"That's fine. She is welcome to spend the night at my place though."

I frowned. "No, I'll pick her up," I said quickly. He nodded.

I leaned forward and gave Lucy a kiss on the cheek. "I'll pick you up later, baby."

"Bye Mommy."

"Bye Lucy."

Rose arrived at the house shortly after Mike had left with Lucy. She insisted on dressing me up. She had even brought a dress for me to wear.

"Seriously, Rose. I can dress myself," I said, rolling my eyes as she emptied her makeup bag on the bathroom vanity.

She snorted. "Bella, you've never been able to dress yourself," she said, "Now let me do what I do best. You just sit down and shut up."

I gave in with a groan, sitting down on the toilet seat and letting her begin the makeup process.

I had never been one to wear much make up. Usually I would just use some powder and mascara and call myself good. Rose, on the other hand, loved working with make up. She had even went to school for cosmetology before deciding she wanted to work with cars. It was a pretty big switch.

Twenty long minutes later, Rosalie had finished my make up and shoved me into my bedroom to change into the dress she brought. I had to admit, it was a beautiful dress. It was a strapless midnight blue cocktail dress that hit right above the knee. It fit me perfectly too.

I slipped on some ballet flats before leaving my room. I knew Rose would be annoyed I didn't choose to wear heels, but I didn't care. I wanted to be comfortable. As I predicted, Rosalie rolled her eyes when she saw my shoes, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, I'm ready," I announced.

We were on the road within minutes, Emmett and Rose in the front of the car, and me in the back. I gazed out the window thinking about what Lucy was doing at that moment. I glanced at the clock; it was 8:30, so she was probably sleeping right now.

My thoughts of Lucy were broken when Emmett parked and turned off the car. We were a little ways down the road from the club Contour. I rolled my eyes, Mike used to try to get me to go there when I was pregnant. He was such a freaking idiot. A pregnant woman in a club? Yeah, right.

I climbed out of the car at the same time as Rosalie and Emmett and pulled the coat I was wearing tighter to my body. It was September in Seattle and it was already freezing. I looked over at Rose. She was on the phone probably with her brother to make sure he was here. I had met Jasper, Rosalie's brother a few times over the two years she had been dating my brother. They tried to set me up with him, but he really wasn't what I was looking for.

"You ready?" Emmett asked, grinning at me like an idiot.

I smirked and shrugged my shoulders. "I guess."

A few moments later, Rose told us that her brother was there and we headed off to the club. I kind of felt out of place when Rose walked right up to the bouncer, he took one look at her and let us in. Rose was a knockout, she knew it, I knew it, and we all knew it. She had long blonde hair that was slightly curly, it was always styled perfectly. She had icy blue eyes and pouty lips. She had the body of a model and stole hearts just by walking in a room. Her heart, however, belonged to my brother.

I walked behind the perfect couple, snickering at the stares Rosalie got from both men and woman and enjoying being totally ignored. I almost ran right into Emmett's back when he and Rose stopped abruptly in front of a table.

"Hey Jasper," Rosalie said. I heard Emmett greet Rose's brother as well. Rose quickly looked behind her and saw me standing inches from my brother basically shielded from view. "Bella, what the hell are you doing? Get over here." She grabbed my arm and pulled me to her side, between her and Emmett.

I was studying the floor now, embarrassed that I was basically hiding. I didn't mean to hide; they just stopped so quickly I had no chance to react. Now Jasper and his girlfriend probably thought I was some sort of overly shy weirdo, which I actually was.

I slowly raised my head and smiled at Jasper. "Hey," I said softly before scanning the rest of their table and realizing that there was not only his girlfriend sitting next to him, but another man. The man and I made eye contact briefly before I looked down at the ground again, blushing as I did so. I couldn't help but notice that this stranger was extremely handsome and had the most unusual colored hair. It was almost…bronze.

"Hello Bella," Jasper said. I glanced up at him briefly and smiled. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Alice Brandon," he announced. I looked up and smiled at her. She was grinning back at us.

"This is my cousin, Edward," she said in a high voice, putting her arm around her cousin.

I looked over at the gorgeous man named Edward, and he was, again, staring straight at me. I blushed, but didn't look at the ground again. Instead, I opted to look at Alice. She was smiling a knowing smile in my direction.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

"Jackson, your breakfast is ready!" I called to my son from the dining room. I heard rustling from the living room before hearing the sounds of his feet running across the hardwood floor before actually seeing the bronze haired boy enter the dining room.

"What did you make, daddy?" he asked, rushing toward the table to get a look at what was on our plates.

I smiled. "Scrambled eggs and bacon," I replied, mussing up his hair before taking my own seat next to the one he was pulling out.

Once he was seated, Jackson ignored the small fork by his plate and began to eat the eggs with his hands.

"Jackson, you're four years old, you know how to use a fork," I chided, giving my son the look that meant business. He frowned before picking up the fork and shoveling the eggs into his mouth.

As I helped clean up Jackson, my phone began to ring. I sighed and handed the towel to Jackson so he could dry off his hands before answering.

"Hi Edward!" Alice's voice rang in my ears.

I smirked. I loved Alice. "Hey Ali, how are you doing?"

"Great! What are you doing tonight?"

"I'm not sure. I'm thinking about renting Jackson a movie so I can catch up on work," I replied. Jackson's nanny was on vacation this week so I had to stay home from work until she got back. It was difficult to work from home, even if I did work for my dad at his magazine. I wrote a column on parenting in his magazine for entrepreneurs. It was called _Cash_. Original, I know.

"Call a sitter. You have to come out for drinks with Jasper and me. I am meeting his sister for the first time and I really don't want to be alone."

I chuckled. "You won't be alone. Jasper will be there," I teased.

"You know what I mean, Edward!"

"Yeah, I know. I'll see what I can do. Maybe Angela can take care of Jackson for the night," I said. Angela lived down the hall from my apartment with her boyfriend, Ben. She took care of Jackson from time to time when I needed her.

"Awesome! Let me know when you find out!"

"Alright, I'll call you in a bit," I said.

We ended the call after bidding each other goodbye. I searched through my contacts and called Angela next. After talking to her for a few minutes, she agreed to take care of my son for the night.

I sent a text to Alice telling her I could come out with her. She replied almost immediately saying she would pick me up at eight that night. She had also added a smiley face to the end of her message.

The rest of the day passed quickly. I spent most of my time with Jackson in the living room playing with Legos and watching cartoons. It was a lovely lazy afternoon. I didn't often have those.

I dropped Jackson off at Angela's apartment at 7:30 that evening. I explained to her that I would be going out and would be picking up Jackson later that night. She smiled and nodded before taking my son in for the evening.

I went back to my apartment to finish getting ready and before I knew it, Alice was calling my cell phone to tell me to get my ass outside. I chuckled at her choice of words before hopping on the elevator.

I slide into the backseat of her boyfriend Jasper's car before Alice bombarded me with…well…herself.

"How's Jackson, Edward? Was Angela cool about taking care of him last minute? Thanks so much for coming out tonight! Do you think Rosalie will like me?"

She had turned around in her seat before saying all of this. I simply stared at her and blinked. I wondered how Jasper handled it. He saw her more often than I did.

"Uh, Jackson is good. Angela was fine with it. You're welcome. Yes," I replied finally, hoping I remembered all of the questions.

She smirked at me. "That's good, and I hope you're right. I want her to like me."

"Alice, I told you, it doesn't matter if my picky sister doesn't like you; even though I'm sure she will. Just remember, I love you and that's all that matters," Jasper said, reaching across the middle console and grabbing my cousin's hand.

Alice grinned like an idiot over at her boyfriend. "You always say the right thing. I love you," she said getting all googly-eyed.

We surprisingly sat in silence the rest of the ride. Alice and Jasper kept glancing at each other with love in their eyes. I couldn't believe they had only been together for four months. I also couldn't believe they already said 'I love you' to one another.

"We're here!" Alice sang from the front seat, hopping out and practically jumping up and down on the sidewalk, waiting for Jasper and me to get out of the car. I wondered if she had a pot of coffee to drink before we left.

Jasper and I slipped out of the car and followed the energetic Alice to the front of the line to the bouncer who actually let us in right away. He must have thought Alice was gorgeous, because she was, or she had slipped him a fifty.

I followed the couple to a table toward the back and took a seat next to my cousin.

"They're not here yet," she explained even though I had gathered the information when we sat down at an empty table.

A waitress came over to our table to take drink orders. She shamelessly tried to flirt with me, but I ignored her and ordered a beer. Alice ordered some fruity chick drink and Jasper got a beer like me.

"I think that Emmett and Rose were trying to get Bella to come tonight. I guess we shall see if they succeed," Jasper told us as we waited for the waitress to return with our drinks.

Alice clapped her hands together and grinned. "I've been wanting to meet Bella too. Didn't they try to set you up with her?" she asked as the waitress arrived with our drinks, we paid her and thanked her. She stared at me for a moment before finally leaving to go do God knows what.

"Yeah, but Bella would have no part in it," Jasper said with a chuckle. Alice was going to say something, but a couple had stopped at our table.

The guy was huge. He looked like he should be a linebacker or something. He was grinning down at Jasper and Alice. The girl was gorgeous blonde that looked like she belonged on the runway, not in some club.

"Hey Jasper," the blonde, who I only could assume was Jasper's sister, said. She looked behind her boyfriend and made a face. "Bella, what the hell are you doing? Get over here!" she hissed before pulling a girl who had been hiding behind the large guy out and between them.

The girl, Bella, looked down at her feet for a moment, obviously embarrassed for hiding behind the large guy. When she did look up and greet everyone, my jaw dropped a little. She was gorgeous. She was that kind of natural beauty. She didn't even need to try to make herself look pretty, she just was. Her eyes bore into mine for a moment before she quickly looked back down, blushing slightly.

"Hello Bella," I heard Jasper say from the other side of my cousin. She looked up at Jasper and smiled slightly. My heart almost wept. I wished she would smile like that at me. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Alice Brandon."

Alice grinned before wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "This is my cousin, Edward," she said cheerfully. Bella's eyes met mine again and I smiled at her. She blushed and looked at the ground before looking back up at Alice.

The blonde smiled at us. "It's nice to meet you Alice, Edward. I'm Rosalie, Jasper's sister," she said, extending her hand out for Alice to shake, and then offering it for me to shake.

The big guy threw his arm around Bella and grinned. "I'm Emmett, Rosie's boyfriend, and this is my little sister Bella," he announced with a booming voice.

"It's nice to meet you," I said staring directly at Bella who wouldn't make eye contact. Emmett took the opportunity to shake my hand.

Jasper asked them to sit down. My eyes flashed to Bella, hoping she would sit near me so I could at least stare at her for a while. Luck was on my side because Emmett sat across from Jasper, and Rosalie sat across from Alice, which left Bella to sit across from me.

"Glad to see you could get away tonight, Bella. How is Lucy? Who's looking after her?" Jasper asked before taking a sip of his beer. I looked over at him confused, and then to Bella who had looked up from the drink menu she had been studying to meet Jasper's eyes.

She was about to say something, but Alice cut her off. "Who's Lucy?" she asked. I was glad my cousin actually interrupted her to ask a question I was wondering what the answer was as well.

Bella smiled and began playing with the napkin in front of her. "Lucy is my 3 year old daughter," she began. "She is fine. Thankfully she is out of the terrible two's stage. She's with her dad tonight." I noticed her forehead crease when she mentioned Lucy's dad and that just left me curious.

"Oh my gosh, you have a daughter? Do you have any pictures with you?" Alice squealed. I wished I had earmuffs. She was a pain to sit next to, especially when something excited her.

Bella nodded, pulling out her wallet, fishing in and producing two small squares, handing them to Alice. I leaned over Alice's shoulder to get a good look at the pictures.

At first glance, the little girl in the picture looked nothing like Bella. She had blonde hair and a totally different nose. When I studied the pictures longer, I found that the little girl had the same face shape, the same mouth, and Bella's big brown doe eyes. The little girl, Lucy, was gorgeous.

"She's adorable, Bella," Alice exclaimed, handing the pictures back over to her. "How old did you say she was?"

"Three," Bella said.

"That's close to the age of Edward's son," my cousin chirped. Bella's eyes moved from Alice to me.

"You have a son?" she asked.

I nodded, already fishing out my wallet from my jeans. The rest of the table had gotten into conversation about something else, leaving Bella and me to our own. Thank you, Alice!

I handed the pictures of Jackson over to Bella with a smile. "His name is Jackson. He's four."

Bella studied the images with a smile on her face, tucking a strand of her wavy brown hair behind her ear before handing them back to me.

"He's so cute. He looks just like you," she commented with a smile. She seemed to be opening up with this talk about our children, so I let it roll.

"So you're saying I'm cute too," I said, grinning at her crookedly.

Bella looked down at the table and blushed crimson before looking back up at me. "I guess I am," she said, surprising me by actually flirting back. Shit, I didn't even know if she was single and I was flirting with her.

"So, why isn't Lucy's daddy out tonight? Could you not find a babysitter?"

"Mike is the babysitter. He doesn't get to see her much so he jumped on a chance to baby-sit," she said, her voice going flat when she spoke of the father of her child.

"You guys aren't still together?" I asked, trying not to sound too curious. I think I failed.

Bella shook her head and I almost did a victory dance. "No, Mike and I haven't been together since I was pregnant," she replied.

I decided to drop the subject of Lucy's father since I got the info that I wanted. "So, when does Lucy hit the age of four?"

Bella's face lit up at the change of subject to her daughter. "She turns four February 19th."

I smiled and nodded. "Jackson turned four last month, August 3rd, actually."

"I bet you and your wife were proud," Bella said. Hmm, now she was the one fishing for information.

"Actually, my ex-wife wasn't in town to celebrate. She only gets supervised visits." I didn't want to tell her that my ex-wife, Tanya, was a recovering alcoholic and was still experimenting with drugs. She didn't need to know anything about that yet.

Bella nodded. "My ex-boyfriend, Mike, only sees Lucy one weekend a month. But he chose it that way."

I wondered why the hell Lucy's father would only want to see his daughter one weekend a month. I could barely handle a day at work without my son. I decided to change the subject to something lighter.

"Is your daughter obsessed with Dora the Explorer?" I asked.

She nodded. "She barely has any idea of what's going on, but she loves it!"

Bella and I spent the next half hour talking about our kids' likes and dislikes. Lucy and Jackson pretty much liked the same things.

"I'd bet they would hit it off if they met," I said, taking a sip of my second beer of the evening. I wasn't looking to get drunk or anything, but I still wanted alcohol. Bella stuck with water.

"I'm sure they would. We should set them up on a play date or something," Bella suggested with a laugh. I wasn't sure if she was serious, but if we set our kids up on play date, it would give me an excuse to see her. I wasn't passing up this chance.

"We should. I think a play date would be a great idea," I said seriously.

Bella blinked. "You really think so?"

I nodded. "Yeah, why not? Jackson isn't really ever really around kids his age and it would be good for him to make friends before kindergarten."

She stared at me for a moment, biting her lip as she thought about the idea. "Yeah, it would be good to get Lucy acquainted with someone her own age."

"Awesome! How about I call you sometime this week and we can set something up," I said with a grin.

She nodded and began pulling out her phone, handing it to me. "Put your number in," she said with a smirk.

I quickly added my number to her contacts and handed her cell phone back to her. "I can't wait for the play date."

* * *

_**A/N: **__So, is anyone else excited for the play date? Alright, so check out the stuff I put up on my profile for this story. There is artwork and a playlist that is in the works. Also, don't hesitate to add me on livejournal. Okay, so reviews please?_


	2. Unsure

_**A/N: **__Thank you everyone who left reviews on the first chapter. I'm really glad people are actually reading this and commenting. Anyone not commenting come out of the woodwork and leave me a message! Anyway, the play date was supposed to happen in this chapter, but I got off track, and it turned out very differently then what it was supposed to be like. Alright, here is chapter 2, it is called: __**Unsure.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I also don't own any celebrities mentioned in this story or any pop culture references made; they belong to their respectable owners._

_**Rating: **__M for language, themes, and later sexual content._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

I couldn't believe I was actually flirting with this guy. Usually I would ignore any guys who would try to flirt with me because I knew once they found out about Lucy they would freak and back off. I hated setting myself up for disappointment. For some reason, I wasn't able to stop flirting with Edward. Maybe it was the fact that he was a single dad who was pretty much in the same situation as I was. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was gorgeous; I didn't know and I didn't care.

Sometime throughout our flirting, we had arranged a play date and I was surprisingly excited for it. I was excited that my daughter might make a new friend and excited that I would get to spend time with Edward again.

The waitress came back to the table asking if we needed any refills. I just asked for more water and Edward ordered a Diet Coke. He had a few beers already and I assumed he was cutting himself off of alcohol for the rest of the night.

"So, Bella, are you in school?" Alice asked from next to Edward. I had almost forgotten the others were there. I hadn't really spoken to them for most of the night because I was too wrapped up in Edward.

I nodded. "Yeah, I go to the University of Washington. Unfortunately, I can only take two classes. It's hard to be a college student with a child," I replied before taking a sip of my newly refilled glass of water.

"Bella has to take night classes so Emmett or I will be home to watch Lucy," Rose added taking a sip of her own drink.

"That must be exhausting," Edward commented. "Especially when you try to do projects or homework."

I nodded in agreement. "It gets tough, but Emmett and Rose help me," I said.

"Edward had to hire a nanny to take care of Jackson while he was at work. She's on vacation right now, though," Alice chirped, grinning between Edward and me.

I didn't know what Edward did. I had been talking to him for about an hour and I didn't know his profession. "What do you do, Edward?" I asked quickly.

"I am a writer for a column in my father's magazine, but sometimes I freelance write. I took time off while my son's nanny is away, though."

Wow, he was a writer? "Holy crap, that's what I'm going to school for – to be a writer. I would prefer to write novels though, but that is amazing!" I was practically bouncing in my seat. "What magazine does your father own?"

"_Cash_. It's the entrepreneur magazine. I write the parenting column though, like how to fit your kids in your busy lifestyle and making sure they come first," he replied with a soft smile.

Of course I had heard of the magazine. I hadn't read it, but it was one of the most popular magazines in the country. I think Emmett got it in the mail, actually. My brother was trying to start his own ad agency, but for the time being, he worked at someone else's ad agency as an assistant.

"That's amazing, Edward!" I exclaimed with a smile.

"I love that magazine, but I rarely read the parenting article, no offense man," Emmett said with a chuckle. Edward chuckled as well.

About an hour later, Emmett and Rose were ready to call it a night. I, honestly, was having a great time and didn't really want to say goodbye to Edward. Then, I remembered that I had a daughter to get home to and I was able to get out of my seat and bid Alice, Jasper, and Edward goodbye.

"I'll call you sometime this week," I promised Edward while Rose and Emmett were busy with Alice and Jasper.

He grinned at me. "Call soon, I can't wait for our kids to meet," he paused. "Plus, I can't wait to see you again."

I knew I was probably smiling like a goofy idiot by now, but I didn't care. "I will call you soon, I promise," I muttered, still smiling.

Emmett and Rosalie dragged me off a few moments later, basically pushing me into the backseat of Emmett's Jeep.

Once Emmett had started driving, Rose turned almost completely around in her seat to stare at me. I was still grinning like a fool.

"So what happened in there?" she asked curiously.

I bit my lip. "Whatever do you mean?" I asked, playing dumb just to piss her off.

She rolled her eyes. "You and Alice's cousin, Edward. That's what I mean. I haven't seen you flirt like that since you were nineteen or twenty."

I shrugged. "We are both single parents. I guess we have that in common."

She, again, rolled her eyes at me. "Is that all you talked about?" she asked.

"We talked about our kids a bit, I mean, they are important to us. I found out he was single."

"Anything else?" she asked anxiously.

"Uh, I'm supposed to call him to set up a play date for Lucy and his son, Jackson."

She let out a laugh. "Sounds like it's more of a play date for you and Edward. When are you going to call him?"

I shrugged my shoulders. Did it really matter? "Tomorrow, probably."

Rose looked horrified. "Jeez, eager much? You have to wait at least three days, Bells," she said.

"I thought that was just for dates?"

"Well, this is a play date. It has 'date' in the title. I mean, shouldn't the rules be the same? Make him wait a little before you call to set up your kids for sandbox playtime while you blow him behind the bushes."

My eyes widened. "That is totally not going to happen, Rose." She was talking about me like I was some carefree slut. I hadn't even been on a date with a guy since before Lucy was born. Why would she think I would get behind the bushes with Edward so soon? Jeez, with the way I was thinking, I wanted to get Edward behind the bushes at some point.

Rose giggled. "Whatever, you know you're horny. You haven't been with a guy since Mike, right?"

I blushed, wishing that she wouldn't say shit like that with Emmett in the car. I mean, he was my brother after all. "Uh, no," I responded in a soft whisper.

"Jesus, Rosie, I don't want to hear anything about my sister's sex life," Emmett began. I was about to throw my arms around him; he was saving me from talking about sex with his girlfriend. "Or lack of a sex life," he added, letting out a loud laugh.

I scowled at him, wishing I could punch him without getting us in a car accident. I would have to wait until we got back home.

Emmett pulled up in front of Mike's apartment building a few minutes later, still chuckling to himself. I rolled my eyes and headed to the main building where I had the bellmen buzz Mike's apartment.

I waited in the lobby until Mike emerged from the elevator with our sleeping daughter in his arms. I quickly took her from him, glad to have my little girl back, before thanking him for watching her. We awkwardly said goodbye before I hopped back in Emmett's car, putting Lucy in her car seat next to my spot in the back. She was still sound asleep, so no one talked the rest of the ride back to the house trying not to wake her.

When we got in the house, I silently carried my daughter into her room and put her in her crib.

"I love you, Lucy," I said to her sleeping form before kissing her on the forehead then tiptoeing out of the room to get some sleep.

The next morning I woke up to giggling coming from the living room. I smiled, recognizing Lucy's giggling mixed with Emmett's voice as I got out of bed and threw a sweatshirt over the tank top that I had worn to bed before exiting my room.

When I reached the living room, I found Emmett sitting on the floor next to Lucy drawing a picture. Emmett was horrible at drawing, but he would always try to draw what Lucy wanted when she asked him too.

"Mommy! Uncle Emmy's drawing me a princess!" Lucy squealed before getting up and running towards me.

I smiled and picked her up, kissing her on the cheek. "That's awesome, baby. Is he doing a good job?" I asked, grinning at my little girl.

Lucy shook her head and giggled. "No," she squeaked. Emmett grumbled something from his place on the floor.

"I'm trying my best," he said, still hunched over the piece of paper.

I suppressed a laugh as I took a few steps forward, Lucy still in my arms, and looked over Emmett's shoulder. When I saw what he drew, I couldn't hold back my laughter and neither could Lucy. It was a stick figure with hair drawn around its head that looked like an afro; it also had a very unflattering dress drown around its thin body and circles for feet and hands.

Emmett looked up at us and glared, obviously mad that we were laughing at his horrible drawing skills. I set Lucy down and snatched the picture from the floor, getting an even better look at it.

"Oh, Emmett, I'm so proud of you! This is going on the fridge!" I said, mimicking our mother's voice. I actually sounded a lot like her.

Emmett chuckled at my impression, and Lucy decided to jump on his back, declaring him a pony. I jogged off to the kitchen, picture still in hand, to make breakfast. I giggled when I actually put the picture right on the top center of the fridge after quickly scribbling in the corner 'Emmett Swan, age 26'.

I pulled out a frying pan and grabbed some eggs and cheese from the refrigerator, deciding to make eggs for everyone.

"Hey Em, is Rose still here?" I asked, wondering how many eggs I should make as I turned the stove on.

"Yeah, she's still sleeping," Emmett called back from the living room.

I nodded and began cooking.

Emmett entered the kitchen just as I was adding the cheese to the scrambled eggs I was making. I looked over at him and gave him a soft smile waiting for him to get what he wanted from the fridge or whatever else he wanted. Instead, he leaned against the counter next to the stove.

"You need something?" I asked, moving the eggs around in the pan.

"When are you going to call Edward?" Emmett asked with a smirk. It was only nine in the morning and my brother was already asking about Edward.

"I don't know," I replied as I turned off the stove since the eggs were ready and began diving them up onto four plates. I had thought about Edward a lot last night before I went to bed. Sure, he was handsome, but he was still a stranger. How the hell did I know he wasn't a serial killer?

"Bells, I know that look. You're looking into this too much. You're coming up with crazy theories about this guy," Emmett said, still leaning against the counter.

I narrowed my eyes at him before handing him a plate of eggs. "Shut up and eat. I'll call him if I want to. Leave me alone," I growled, grabbing my own plate and Lucy's small plate and headed for the living room.

Emmett followed. "Come on, Bells. You guys have a lot in common," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Em, we practically only talked about our kids. I don't really know anything about him."

"Well then, find out. Call him. Don't be a chicken."

"Quiet, Emmett," I said as we reached my daughter and I handed her the plate of eggs. I plopped down on the couch and began watching some strange cartoon Lucy had on and Emmett plopped down next to me.

"I just don't want you to regret it later," my brother said softly.

I looked over at him and gave him a soft smile. "I just don't know if it's something I should do right now. I mean, if I knew him better, maybe, but he's a stranger."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "He's not a rapist or serial killer, if that's what you're thinking. He's Rosie's brother's girlfriend's cousin. He's a good guy."

I sighed. "I'll think about calling him."

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

It had been a week since I met Bella, and she still hadn't called. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I was devastated. Luckily, my son's nanny came back and I went back to work, so that took my mind off of a lot. Still, she was always in the back of my mind. I really wanted to get to know her and meet her daughter; and have my son meet her and her daughter.

"I can't believe she hasn't called you," Alice squeaked that night when she and Jasper came to visit after I got out of work.

I shrugged, trying to hide my total disappointment. "Maybe she was drunk that night and doesn't remember."

Jasper laughed. "She drank water the whole night. Bella hates to drink," he said.

Alice looked over at Jasper and smiled. "Do you have her number, Jazzy?" she asked in a syrupy sweet voice.

"Maybe," he replied.

"Oh for fuck's sake, give it to Edward so he can call her!"

I shook my head. "Alice, I don't want to push her. I gave her my number, if she wanted to set this up, then she would call. She probably just changed her mind about the whole thing."

Jackson rushed out of his room and over to me. "Have you seen my transformer car guy?" he asked, his voice sounding extremely worried.

I nodded and pointed over by the TV. "He's right where you left him," I said, ruffling my son's hair before he ran off to gather his toy.

"But she was so into you, Edward. She sounded so excited about the play date too," Alice muttered, jutting out her bottom lip at me.

"I guess you and I were both wrong, then," I said softly.

"No, you guys were right. Bella was into you that night. I haven't seen her act like that since she was with Mike. She's probably just scared because she hasn't let a guy into her life since her ex, let alone into her daughter's life. Trust me though, she really liked you," Jasper said, stretching his arms over his head and giving me a look.

"She may have been into me then, but that doesn't mean she hasn't changed her mind. She probably doesn't even want me in her life after she actually thought about it," I murmured.

Jasper shrugged. "I've known Bella for a while, Edward. Her brother and my sister have dated for six years. Hell, I graduated with Bella. She over thinks everything, plus she's stubborn. She probably thinks that her daughter doesn't need friends or anyone else in her life. Plus, she hardly knows you."

I was about to say something, but Jasper spoke again. "Oh, and she's probably convinced herself that you're a terrorist or some shit."

I chuckled before rubbing my hands over my face. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" I asked Jasper.

Jasper smirked at me. "Edward, did you forget that I am the brother of her brother's girlfriend?"

"No."

"Good," he paused. "We are going to go over there tomorrow night."

My eyes widened. "I can't do that! She's probably regretting coming up with the play date idea."

"Yes you can. Just get a baby sitter, it will be fine. Emmett already invited us over for a movie night."

"And you didn't tell me this why?" I asked, frustrated.

He shrugged. "I guess I like seeing you all upset and shit," he said.

The next night, I stopped back at home to make sure Jackson's nanny, Laura, had everything she needed and that my son was happy before I changed and left for movie night.

Jasper had given me directions and told me that Bella had no idea that I was coming. I hoped she wouldn't freak out when she saw me and accuse me of murdering puppies or some shit.

I sighed and pulled up to the curb when I reached the small town house that I assumed was Bella and Emmett's. Jasper and Alice parked behind me a few minutes later. I hopped out of my car and met them on the sidewalk.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't want to give her a heart attack. She might think I'm stalking her," I said, looking up at the house. It was dark out, so the windows were lit up with a warm glow.

Jasper shrugged. "It's an amazing idea, let's go."

Jasper led us up the front steps and knocked on the large wooden door, ringing the doorbell at the same time. A few moments later, Bella's brother, Emmett, threw the door open and let us all in.

The room we had entered appeared to be the living room. There were two tan couches pushed against two walls, making an 'L' shape. A coffee table was placed in front of them and it was littered with coloring books and magazines. There was an archway over on the far wall, which appeared to open to the kitchen. A staircase leading upstairs was right next to the archway.

"Bella and Rose will be down in a minute. They are just putting Lucy to bed," Emmett announced before plopping his large body down on one of the couches.

Honestly, I was a little sad that I wouldn't get to meet Lucy, but it was after eight in the evening and the little girl had to be tired.

Alice and Jasper dove onto the empty couch, snuggling up to one another. I took a seat on the cushion far away from them. I silently hoped that they wouldn't attempt to procreate in front of everyone, but you never knew with Alice and Jasper.

A few minutes later, Rose came down the stair, grinning at everyone before sitting next to Emmett. "Bella will be down in a minute, she's just changing into some pajama pants," she said.

Bella would look sexy in PJ bottoms, I thought to myself as I heard footsteps coming from the upstairs, and then heard those same footsteps come down the stairs.

I turned my head right when she had landed at the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing Hello Kitty pajama bottoms with an over-sized Beatles t-shirt. When she noticed me sitting there, her eyes widened.

"Hi Bella!" Alice chirped from her place on the couch.

Bella kept staring at me, dumbstruck, before finally looking to Alice and Jasper and smiling. "Hey guys," she said with a small smile, before walking toward the TV and asking what movie we were going to watch.

Rosalie practically demanded we watch 'Clueless' because it was her favorite movie. Emmett wanted to watch 'Rocky' and Jasper wanted to watch some movie about the Civil War.

Bella sighed. "What about 'Garden State'?" she asked, pulling the DVD off the shelf and waving it around. Luckily, everyone liked that movie, I mean, it was hard not to like. Bella popped it into the DVD player and grabbed the remote from the TV stand before settling down next to Rose on the couch.

Even though I did like the movie, I was pretty much watching Bella the entire time. I noticed that whenever there was a cute moment between the two main characters, Bella would grab a chunk of her hair and twirl it between her fingers. When it was a sad scene, she would hug onto the pillow that was resting on her lap. It was all quite adorable.

Bella stood up suddenly and looked around the room. "Would anyone like something to drink?" she asked, her eyes avoiding mine.

"Sure, got any water?" Alice asked with a grin.

Bella nodded. The others asked her to get them water too, I, however, didn't say anything. I just watched her walk into the kitchen.

A few moments after she had disappeared behind the archway, Jasper elbowed me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Follow her. Talk to her," he whispered, pointing towards the kitchen.

I nodded before quickly standing up and walking into the kitchen. She was digging through the fridge, fishing out water bottles. She lifted her head and put two water bottles on the counter when she noticed me. She jumped.

"Oh, you scared me!" she squeaked. "Did you want something to drink?"

I nodded slowly and took a few more steps toward her. "What do you have other than water?" I asked.

She smirked and opened the fridge a little wider; I moved closer and took a look inside. There was beer on the top shelf that I assumed belonged to Emmett. There were a bunch of fruits and vegetables, tupperware containers filled with food. A lot of the food looked healthy.

I noticed a pack of juice boxes near the bottom of the fridge, smiled, reached down and grabbed it. "Is this okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "That's fine," Bella said.

We stared at each other for a few moments, before she decided to break the silence. "I've been meaning to call you," she admitted, her blush coloring her cheeks.

I smiled. "I've been waiting for your call," I said.

She blushed harder. "I guess I was a little nervous. I've never set my kid up on a play date before. It's kind of new to me, letting people who are practically strangers into my life, and into Lucy's," she said softly, glancing up at me every so often.

"It's okay, I understand. If you don't want to do the whole play date thing anymore, that's okay."

She shook her head. "No, I still want to do that. I want my daughter to meet someone her own age." She paused and looked up at me. "Plus, I want to get to know you better."

I grinned down at her. "You busy tomorrow afternoon?" I asked.

"I have to work at eight in the evening, but before that I'm free," Bella answered.

"Play date tomorrow afternoon then?"

She smirked. "That sounds great."

I grinned at her. Finally, the play date was going to happen. I couldn't wait.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Okay, the play date will definitely happen in the next chapter, but you still got some B/E interaction. Anyway, I just wanted to let the readers of my other stories know that I am not giving up on those stories, but I just really wanted to start this one. Don't freak on me! Alright, the playlist and banner for this story are up in my profile. Check them out and please review!_


	3. The Park

_**A/N: **__Sorry for how long it took me to update, but I'm working on three stories right now and I'm really busy with school and work and only have one day off a week pretty much. Anyway, here is Chapter 3…it is called: __**The Park**__._

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own the rights to any celebrities referenced in this story or any pop culture references made. _

_**Rating: **__M for language, themes, and later sexual content._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

I stood in front of my open closet door and scanned my wardrobe for a decent outfit to wear. Today was after all, the day of the play date with Edward and his son. Lucy was already dressed in a cute pink jumper and sitting in the living room watching cartoons. Oh, how she loved the television.

"Bella it's almost twelve," Rose said as she entered my bedroom. She was dressed in running shorts and a tank top. She must have just gotten back from the gym.

I sighed. "I know, but I'm not sure what to wear. I want to look nice, but I don't want my outfit to get disgusting from playing with Lucy and Jackson."

Rose chuckled and threw her arm around my shoulders. "Oh, my little Bella. Going out of her way to try to impress a guy," she muttered, smirking at me.

I couldn't believe I didn't try to lie to her and hide it earlier. "Uh, yeah I guess. I mean, I think he's nice, and I don't want him to think I'm a total slob."

"Plus, he's totally hot."

"That too," I said before I could even catch myself. Man, I was letting words slip through my mouth like water today. Hopefully that wouldn't happen around Edward.

"Oh, you are totally into him," she said with a wink.

I ignored her, stared into my closet for a moment longer and then pulled out jeans and a sweater. Rose rolled her eyes at my outfit choice, but again, I ignored her and wandered into my bathroom to change.

Fifteen minutes later, I had Lucy in her car seat and we were headed to the playground just outside of downtown Seattle. I had taken Lucy to this park before, it was nice and had tons of play areas for older kids and younger ones. It also had walking paths, which were nice when the playgrounds were too crowded.

I pulled into one of the vacant spots, parking before grabbing my cell phone and calling Edward.

I was nervous as it began to ring, and even more nervous when he answered in his lovely velvet tone. "Hey, Bella."

I blushed against my small, silver cell phone. Yes, the man could make me blush just hearing him talk. Actually just saying my name with 'hey' in front of it.

"Hi, Edward, um, I just got to the park," I mumbled, hoping he could understand what I was saying.

"Oh, well Jackson and I are almost there. We got held up with my son here decided to hide behind the TV stand in my bedroom instead of letting me dress him," Edward said with a chuckle.

I smiled into the phone. "Alright, well, we will be waiting by the parking lot," I said, hoping out of my car and heading toward the back door to get Lucy out of her car seat.

"See you in a few," Edward said, hanging up.

I closed my phone and unbuckled my daughter from her car seat. She squealed when she noticed where we were and insisted that I put her down. That was not going to happen. She would run off and try to play on the big kids' playground and get herself hurt.

I held her as I walked over to the bench near the parking lot and waiting.

"Mommy, I wanna play!" Lucy squealed, pointing over my shoulder at the playground behind us.

"You can play in a minute, we just have to wait for Edward and Jackson to get here."

"Why?"

"Because you have a play date with Jackson, sweetie. I told you this yesterday," I said.

She pouted and settled down in my lap. "I remember. What's a play date, Mommy?" she asked.

I smirked. "It's when two children's' parents arrange a day to play together," I answered.

She was about to ask another question, but Edward's voice broke through the air, causing Lucy to turn and look at the owner of the voice that had just called my name.

I waved at Edward as he pulled a little boy from the backseat of the car. He closed the Volvo door and headed our way, holding the little boy's hand.

When Edward and Jackson reached us, Lucy decided to be bold. "Who are you?" she demanded, looking from Edward to Jackson then back to Edward.

I apologized for her rudeness, but Edward held his hand up to show that he wasn't offended.

"I am Edward, and this is my son Jackson. What's your name?" he asked. He had bent low so that he was eye level with Lucy. I loved it when guys did that. They actually acted like children were real people – because they were.

Lucy looked up at me as if to ask if it was okay to answer his question. I smiled down at her and nodded.

"I'm Lucy," she said in her high voice, grinning at Edward and Jackson.

I grinned at my daughter then diverted my attention to Edward's son. "Hello, I'm Bella, and you must be Jackson," I said with a grin.

Jackson nodded shyly and clutched his father's hand tighter. He was a shy boy. A shy boy that looked just like a younger Edward with blue eyes instead of green. He was going to be a hottie when he was older; I could tell.

Edward chuckled at his son's shyness. "Say hello to Bella and Lucy, Jackson."

"Hi," Jackson said simply.

A few minutes later, Jackson and Lucy were dragging us toward the playground. We made sure they went to the little kids' playground before sitting down on a vacant bench across from it. Jackson grabbed Lucy's hand and tugged her toward the sandbox.

I smiled as they sat down in the sand and began digging.

"Jackson loves the sandbox," Edward said a few moments later.

I looked away from the kids and smiled. "Did you get one for him?" I asked.

"A sandbox? Yeah. It's one of those plastic turtle ones. Unfortunately, he hates it. He says it's nothing like the ones at the park."

I chuckled. "So Jackson is pretty picky?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you could say that." He paused. "What about Lucy?"

"Oh, she pretty much just goes with the flow. Well, unless a bath is involved. She hates them," I said glancing over at my blonde little girl digging ferociously in the sand. She looked like she was digging to China or something.

"I see that. She just let Jackson take her to the sandbox earlier," he muttered.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, just watching the kids and admiring the fact that it wasn't raining – a pretty big deal in Seattle.

"So, have you brought anyone home to Lucy before?" he asked with a curious voice.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Like guys?"

He nodded, smiling slightly.

I shook my head. "I haven't really dated since I got pregnant. The last guy I dated was her father," I answered. I probably sounded lame, but I wasn't going to lie about dating or lack thereof. "What about you?" I asked.

"I've brought maybe one or two girls home, but I pretty much quit the whole dating scene."

I nodded. "Why date when you have a perfect replica of yourself right in front of you?" I said gesturing to the kids who had moved on to the small slide next to the sandbox.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said.

Again we fell into a comfortable silence until Lucy rushed over to me asking for some juice. I smiled and began rummaging through my bag, producing an anti-leak sippy cup filled with apple juice.

She chugged about half the cup before waving at Edward and me, then running back to Jackson. They seemed to be getting along rather well, and I told Edward this.

"Yeah, they are really taken with each other. I'm surprised because Jackson's usually so shy around new people," he said with a grin.

After another hour of play, we decided it was time for lunch. I grabbed Lucy's hand and Edward grabbed Jackson's hand as we headed to the diner right across from the park for some food.

"Mommy, do they have alfredo?" Lucy asked once we were seated in a booth.

I glance at the menu, even though I knew this diner didn't sell fettuccine alfredo. It was more of a sandwich place. "Nope, sweetie they don't," I answered. Lucy pouted and asked me to just order her something.

When the waitress came over to our table she grinned down at Lucy and Jackson. "Oh, what cute kids! You guys make a beautiful family," the waitress whose nametag said Harriett on it said.

I blushed, not knowing if I should tell her we weren't a family. Edward decided to take the lead on this one. "Thanks," he said smiling at Harriett.

We ordered beverages and Harriett left our table. I looked at Edward with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Did you want me to ruin her picture perfect family image?" he asked.

I chuckled, but didn't say anything.

Harriett returned with juice for the kids and water for both Edward and me. We thanked her before taking our orders. Edward ordered a BLT for himself, and chicken tenders for Jackson. I ordered a salad for myself and a grilled cheese for Lucy.

Jackson wiggled in his booster seat and studied me for a moment. "Are you my new mommy?" he asked. I was shocked by both his question and the fact that he was talking to me. He hadn't talked to me hardly at all today.

I looked at Edward with wide eyes, then back to his son. "No sweetie, I'm just a friend of your daddy's."

Jackson pouted. "But I like you," he mumbled.

His face almost broke my heart. "I like you too. Can we be friends?" I asked with a smile.

He nodded and a grin broke across his face. "Yes!" he said excitedly.

I looked to Edward and he was grinning the same grin as Jackson; a damn heartbreaking crooked one.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

It kind of shocked me when Jackson asked if Bella was his new mommy. It was a bit frightening to me, but somehow, it seemed like a nice idea. I shook off that thought and just smiled over at Bella.

To say today had been wonderful was an understatement. The kids were getting along fantastically and I really enjoyed Bella's company. I hoped that there would be many more days like this.

A little while later Harriett, our waitress, returned with our food. Lucy and Jackson dug into their meals while Bella and I put napkins on our laps and exchanged glances.

I looked across the table at Lucy who was practically shoving the grilled cheese in her mouth. "So, Lucy, what is your favorite thing to do?" I asked. I knew it was an open-ended question, but I hadn't talked to her much today and I really wanted to. She seemed like such a sweet little girl. Just like Bella.

Lucy studied me for a moment. "I like lots of things. I like it when Mommy and I dance to Beatles," she said, earning a chuckle from Bella.

"The Beatles, honey," she said softly.

"You like the Beatles?" I asked. For such a small girl, I pegged her for liking Kidz Bop or something.

Lucy nodded. "Mommy likes them a lot and so do I. I was named after there song."

I looked up at Bella with a raised eyebrow then back down to the little girl. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?"

"Yup, that one. Mommy sings it to me at bed time," Lucy explained, grinning up at her mother.

I looked to Bella with a curious stare. She blushed before sipping her drink and meeting my eyes again. "I love the Beatles. Always have, always will," she admitted.

I grinned at her. "They happen to be one of my favorite bands," I said. How could anyone hate the Beatles, anyway? They were amazing!

I turned my attention back to Lucy. "What else do you like to do?" I asked.

She smiled. "I like to play with Uncle Emmy and watch Dora. I also like to play with Jackson," she said, looking over at my son and smiling. He smiled back.

Shortly after we got the check, Bella and Lucy decided to call it a day.

"Can we do this again?" I asked once we reached their car.

Bella grinned and blushed slightly; frankly, it was a beautiful quality about Bella.

She nodded. "Sure."

"I'll call you when I figure out a good time," I said, my grin widening as she helped Lucy into her car seat.

"Bye, Edward!" Lucy called from her car seat, waving even though it looked more like flailing. "Bye Jackson!"

Jackson and I waved to Lucy before Bella closed the door and began making her way to the driver side.

"I hope to hear from you soon," Bella said softly before bidding Jackson and me goodbye.

*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~

Alice was waiting at my apartment when I got back. She practically pounced and me when I walked through the door. At first I thought there was an intruder in the house, but it was just my pesky cousin.

"So, how did it go?" she asked, helping Jackson out of his coat and shoes. Jackson stared at his Aunt with confusion, but didn't say anything.

I sighed, shrugging out of my own coat and kicking off my shoes. "It went well. Jackson and Lucy got along great."

Alice nodded. "Yes, but how was it with Bella?"

I almost groaned. I knew she would be curious about Bella. "She was a bit shy, but it was fun. We plan on setting up another play date," I told her.

Alice squealed and nearly busted my eardrums. Curse that woman. "Jeez Alice, keep your enthusiasm down. I don't want to lose my hearing in my 20's."

"Oh be quiet," she said lightly swatting my arm. "So, you still interested in her?"

I made sure Jackson was out of hearing distance because he didn't need to know about my love life until I knew it was serious. He had already high-tailed it into his bedroom and was playing with what sounded like Legos.

"Definitely," I answered with a smirk.

Luckily I was able to cover my ears just in time for Alice to shriek again.

"I have a good feeling about this, Edward," my cousin said with a wink.

Alice had always been able to pick up on things before they happened. It was almost like she could predict the future. Sometimes she would have dreams that would in fact come true. Sometimes she would feel sick while driving down the road so she would pull over and wait until it passed. When she felt better, she would continue on with her drive only to find a horrible car accident. She could just sense things.

"You don't see me betting against you, Alice. Just try to keep your excitement to yourself for now," I said softly.

She sighed but nodded. "Alright. I will try not to freak out when I see her."

I chuckled. "What makes you think you will see her again?" I asked.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I sense things, remember? I will definitely be seeing her soon and I have a feeling that she and I will be best friends."

I blinked. My cousin and a love interest as best friends? Oh great. "Best friends?"

Alice again rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, stupid. I just have a great vibe from her. Like we are kindred friendship spirits. It's similar to the feeling I have between you and Bella, just not romantic."

"That sounds…interesting," I said rolling up the sleeves of my shirt and leading the way to the kitchen.

"Oh shut up, Edward. You love my psychic abilities."

I chuckled. "Yeah, they do come in handy every once in a while." I asked her if she wanted a beverage, tossed the water bottle she asked for and went into smooth conversation about work.

"So, what is your next article going to be about in _Cash_?" Alice asked, perching herself atop the counter and looking at me with her big, curious eyes.

Since I wrote about fitting kids into a busy lifestyle, I was always scrounging for ideas that I hadn't written about already. It was hard being a single dad and not being able to have any idea's from a significant other. Luckily, this month the idea had been pretty easy to come up with.

"I'm going to write an article on play dates. It's a way for busy parents to have their kids meet each other and play while the parent sits on the sidelines and supervises. Great for when parents are extremely tired," I replied with a slight blush. Nothing compared to Bella's blush.

Alice giggled. "Oh, I wonder where you got that idea from?" she teased, hopping down off the counter.

"Shut up, it's a good idea."

Again, she giggled. "I didn't say it was a bad idea."

Five hours later, Alice had left and I was tucking Jackson into his bed.

"Daddy, will I see Lucy and Bella again?" he asked, yawning.

I smiled. "Yeah, we plan on hanging out again soon."

"Really soon?" Jackson asked, his voice sounding pleading.

"Hopefully," I said, pausing. "Goodnight, Jackson. I love you."

"Goodnight Dad. Love you too."

I smiled as I turned off the light, left the room and headed to my computer to start my article on play dates.

* * *

_**A/N: **__I hope you liked the chapter. Sorry it's not longer. Anyway, how about you go check out all the stuff that is up for this story. I promise it will be worth your while. Reviews?_


	4. The Weekend Part I

_**A/N: **__So I'm updating this story before Fade into You, so be happy. Anyway, I'm loving the response I'm getting for this story. I hope more people will comment. I know haven't been good about responding to all the reviews, but I do read them and enjoy them. Don't hesitate to review. Anyway, here is Chapter 4, it is called: __**The Weekend**__. It's all BPOV this chapter. Sorry if you were hoping for EPOV but I just kind of rolled with Bella. Oh, if you wanna see what Bella & Emmett's townhouse looks like, check the links in my profile. Edward's apartment will be put up shortly._

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I also don't own any of the celebrities mentioned or pop culture references made in my story._

_**Rating: **__M for language and later sexual content. _

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

Almost one week after the play date with Edward and Jackson, I found myself at Mike's apartment getting ready to drop Lucy off for the weekend. Each time I dropped her off here, I always felt like I was going to a funeral. Fuck, I even wore black on these days. I always felt that when I dropped her off, it was like I was losing her. In a way, I did lose her for the weekend. Luckily, I would get her back in two and a half days.

I picked Lucy up before we got on the elevator, pressing the button for the tenth floor and waited. The elevator jerked into motion and rose from the ground floor higher and higher until it jerked to a stop, the bell by the doors dinged, and then opened.

I sighed as I stepped into the long hallway, Lucy still in my arms. Mike's apartment was fairly nice. Everything was pretty new, but it was located in a pretty shady neighborhood. I really didn't like bringing Lucy to this area of town, so I always made sure to remind him to keep his doors locked.

When we reached Mike's door, I took a deep breath, shot Lucy a smile, and knocked. I heard a lot of rustling coming from behind the door and I rolled my eyes. Mike had always been such a slob. After a few moments he opened the door and gestured for us to come inside.

"Hi, Daddy!" Lucy squealed, waving at Mike from her spot in my arms.

Mike grinned at her and pried her out of my grasp. "Hey Lucy! How have you been, baby?" he asked, kissing her on her forehead.

I sighed and put Lucy's overnight bag on one of the chairs nearby and went over to Lucy and Mike.

"I'll see you Sunday night, sweetie," I said, kissing my daughter on her chubby cheek.

She smiled and waved once I had pulled away. "Bye, Mommy."

"See you Sunday, Bella," Mike said, following me to the door.

"Make sure you keep this door locked, Mike," I said. "See you Sunday at eight."

Mike nodded as I stepped out of his apartment. I wave to Lucy and she waved back before Mike closed the door and locked it.

Jesus, I already missed her and it was only noon on Friday. I ran my hands through my hair as I headed back to the elevator. An older man joined me on my ride down to the lobby. He smelled like rotten eggs; I held my breath for ten floors.

As I was walking to my car, I heard my phone ringing. I quickly located it in my purse and read the screen. Edward Cullen was calling me. I smiled and answered with a generic 'hello'.

"Hey Bella, how has your week been?" he asked, he truly sounded cheerful and his happy tone only made me smile for some odd reason. Edward and I had communicated through a few texts throughout the week. Most of them had been about Lucy and Jackson, but I was glad I could actually hear his voice.

I sighed. "Uh, it's been alright. Just been going to school. I've been applying for some jobs because I'm sick of my parents and Emmett paying for everything," I said as I reached my car. I knew getting a job would only mean that I wouldn't see Lucy as much, but I really hated people paying for me. I wanted to be independent, not living off my parents and brother. "What about you? How has your week been?" I asked, settling into the front seat of my beat up truck.

"My week has been fine. It's nice to be back in the office, even if I don't see Jackson all day. It was harder to write with him around." Edward paused and I could hear movement in the background. "Where have you applied for jobs at?" he asked.

"I've applied at some clothing stores. I don't have much style so I don't think I'll be hired at any of those stores. I also applied at a few coffee shops. I'll probably apply at a few more places this weekend." I answered, playing with my car keys.

"You know, if your looking for a job, I'm sure my cousin could hook you up with something. She manages the Urban Outfitter's store downtown."

I bit my lip. "Really? I should talk to her about it next time I see her," I said. Even though I hated asking for favors, especially asking to get a job, I really needed one and Alice seemed nice.

"You should. She likes you a lot. I bet she would give you a job on the spot." He paused. "Hey, I was wondering what you and Lucy were doing tonight? Jackson's been bugging me ever since last Saturday to see you and your daughter again."

I frowned. Just the mention of my daughter sent pain to my heart. I missed her so much. "Lucy and I aren't doing anything because she is at her dad's this weekend," I told him. I tried not to sound bitter, but I know I did.

"Oh, that's a shame. I hope she has a good time at her dads," Edward said, he actually sounded really sad for some reason. I decided to ignore it.

"Yeah, I'm sure she will. He always spoilers her with junk food," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Edward chuckled lightly before we were both silent for a few moments. "Hey, even though Lucy isn't with you today, would you still like to spend some time with Jackson and me? I know you must miss Lucy, so how about you let us take your mind off of her," Edward said hopefully.

I licked my lips and switched my cell phone to the other ear, thinking. After a moment, I nodded, even though Edward couldn't see me. "Sure, why not. Just tell me the time and place and I'll be there."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At six o'clock that evening, I found myself standing outside the Starbucks down the road from Pike's Place Market. I sat down at one of the outdoor tables and waited for Edward and Jackson.

Five minutes after I arrived, I saw the tousled bronze hair that belonged to Edward coming towards me through the crowd of people bustling down the street. I grinned at him when I finally saw his face, he smiled back.

Once Jackson saw me, he ran over to the table and enveloped me in a hug. "Hi Bella!" he greeted me cheerfully. I couldn't believe that he was so friendly today since last week he had been pretty shy until the end of the play date. Whatever, I was happy that he felt comfortable around me now.

"Hey Jackson, how have you been?" I asked just as Edward had reached the table and took a seat across from me. He pulled Jackson up on his lap and settled him down on his knee.

"Good," he replied, pulling out a piece of paper and some crayons out of the backpack he had been carrying and began coloring. If I didn't know better, he was probably more excited to sit down and color then see me, even though he had seemed very enthusiastic when he greeted me.

I smirked and looked up, my eyes meeting Edward's green ones. He smiled gently. "Hello Bella."

"Hi Edward. What did you want to do this evening?" I asked, looking down quickly to break eye contact. I felt like if I looking into his eyes for too long, he would be able to read my thoughts.

I heard him chuckle quietly. "I was hoping you would like to go to Pike's Place Market. Jackson and I haven't been there in a while and I feel like we are due for a visit," he said.

"I haven't been there in a while either. I'd love to go."

We let Jackson color for a little while longer before heading to the market. Pike's Place was known for its fish market. The workers basically threw the fish around like a ball before wrapping it and tossing it to the customer.

We looked through some of the shops for a little bit. Most of them contained souvenir type things; others were expensive art and gifts. Edward insisted on buying me a Seattle Seahawks sweatshirt when I told one I didn't own one. I thanked him about twenty times.

Jackson dragged us toward a man playing a guitar for money and selling CD's. Edward gave Jackson a few bucks to throw in the street performer's guitar case before we headed toward the fish market.

"Have you ever bought fish from here?" Edward asked as we watched the workers toss the fish around.

I shook my head. "Nope. Lucy isn't a fan of sea food, so I don't even bother."

Edward stared at me with wide eyes. "You're having dinner with Jackson and me tonight and we are making you salmon from Pike's Place Fish Market."

"What?" I asked, surprised that he was basically telling me what my plans for the rest of the evening were. It didn't really bother me, it just surprised me. Edward never seemed like a demanding guy.

He shot me a crooked smile. "Please let me cook you dinner tonight?"

I think my jaw dropped a little. He was really laying on the charm thick. "Um, okay," I said in a soft voice.

Edward asked me to watch Jackson while he went to order the fish. He shot me a wink as he stopped in line. Jackson grabbed my hand and watched the men behind the counter wrap up some halibut for a finely dressed businessman.

Edward waited in line behind a few other customers before placing an order for some salmon. The fish went flying from one person to another. It was wrapped in a matter of seconds, paid for, and in the arms of Edward before we knew it.

When Edward returned to where we were standing, he grinned at me and grabbed Jackson's other hand. We held the little boys hand all the way back to Edward's Volvo. Jackson tried to swing in between us and almost fell. Luckily, Edward saved the day.

"Did you drive here?" Edward asked once he finished putting Jackson in his booster seat.

I shook my hand. "Nah, I walked. It's not too far from my place."

Edward nodded, opening the passenger door and helping me in his car. I blushed the entire time and tried to will the redness in my face to go away as Edward rushed around the front of his car and plopped into the driver seat, grinning crookedly before starting his car.

Jackson kept Edward and me entertained during the ten-minute ride to Edward's apartment. When he stopped in front of the building, I almost had an aneurysm. Edward lived in Metropolitan Tower Apartments. It was really close to the town house I shared with Emmett and Pike's Place.

I was pretty sure I was still gaping at the building as Edward helped me out of the car. When he led me to the elevator, hand in hand with Jackson, I finally spoke. "How many bedrooms does your apartment have?"

Edward chuckled. "Three," he answered.

The elevator stopped on the fourteenth floor and we stepped out. Edward led me down the hall, pulled out some keys from his pocket and unlocked the door he had just stopped in front of.

When he pushed it open, Jackson rushed inside and Edward gestured for me to enter. I stepped into a rather large entryway. The walls were painted tan with white crown molding. The wasn't much furniture in the entryway, but I could see from where I was standing that the dining room and living room met with the entryway and were painted in the same colors. It was all very modern looking.

Edward helped me out of my jacket and hung it up in the closet to my left. A little beyond the closet door, I could see into the kitchen.

Edward tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn and look at him. "Would you like a tour before I start the food?" he asked, a smile playing at his lips.

I nodded. "That would be cool," I said. I wanted to slap myself. I sounded like a teenager all over again. No one says cool at my age anymore unless they were talking about the temperature.

Edward chuckled before grabbing my hand and leading me to the kitchen. It wasn't very big, but it was modern and beautiful.

"This is the kitchen, obviously," Edward said putting the fish in the fridge.

He then led me across from the kitchen and a few feet away from the front door into what looked like an office. It only had a desk in it and a laptop sitting upon it.

"It's the third bedroom, but I used it as my office," he told me before pulling me out into the hallway then into the bathroom next to his office. It was decorated with salt-water fish and painted blue.

"This is Jackson's bathroom as well as the main bathroom of the house. He insisted on fish," Edward explained, putting his hand on the small of my back and leading me throughout the rest of his well-furnished house.

We both chuckled when he showed me Jackson's dinosaur themed bedroom. Apparently, Jackson was trying to make a fort with his bedding. He didn't even notice us, so we went on with the tour.

A few moments later, we ended up in the master bedroom. Edward's room. The place that the god beside me sleeps every night.

I couldn't help but notice that Edward had a very large king sized bed that looked extremely comfortable. I was pretty sure that the comforter on the bed had to cost more than my two hundred dollar prom dress from senior year. His room was beautiful.

We only stayed in his room for a few moments before he announced that he was going to get started on dinner. He asked if I would keep an eye on Jackson, and I, of course, agreed.

Jackson was still trying to make a fort with his bedding when I entered his room. "What are you doing?" I asked.

Jackson stopped his movement and looked at me. "Making a tent."

Hmm, so it wasn't a fort. "Want some help?" I asked with a smile.

"Sure," he answered.

The next forty-five minutes was spent trying to make this tent. Eventually, Jackson and I had come up with something that resembled at tent, but was a little misshapen.

Edward popped his head around the corner and grinned. "Dinner is ready," he announced before disappearing.

I grabbed Jackson's hand and we walked together into the dining room where the salmon sat all dished up and ready to eat on the dining room table. Edward had also whipped up some rice and a delicious looking salad.

A moment later, Edward emerged from the kitchen with two glasses of wine and a cup of what I assumed was milk or juice for Jackson.

"How does it look?" Edward asked as he sat down the glasses and grinned up at me.

I grinned back. "It looks fantastic, Edward," I said. Edward pulled a chair out for me and I settled into the seat. Jackson had already hopped up on his booster seat and was eyeing the food. Once Edward sat down, he gestured for us to start eating. Jackson, of course, dove right in. It was surprising to see such a young kid actually liking seafood especially since most kids are so picky.

I took a bite of the salmon and savored the wonderful flavor. I hadn't had seafood in so long, I didn't even realize how much I actually missed it. "This is wonderful, Edward. Thank you." Edward grinned at me and took his own bite of food.

The rest of dinner we talked about our kids of course, and the new seasons of TV shows coming out soon. Jackson entertained us with his messy eating as well, and I couldn't stifle laughter every time Edward would have to get up and wipe off his face or pick up some salmon or salad off the floor.

Eventually, we all had finished our food and Edward and I began to clear the table.

"You don't have to help, Bella. I've got this," Edward insisted, trying to grab the plates from my grasp. I pulled them away.

"I want to help," I said with a smirk, walking back to the kitchen and rinsing the plates. Edward opened the dishwasher and began to put what I rinsed inside.

Once we had finished cleaning up the dining room and dishes, it was time for me to leave. I really didn't want to, but I knew Emmett would be wondering where I was even though I had sent him a text saying I would be home late earlier in the evening.

"I'll give you a ride home, of course," Edward said, getting Jackson up.

I smiled and thanked him. I didn't want to walk home this late at night. It was rather dangerous and I knew that Emmett would throw a fit if he found out I did.

A few minutes later I sat in Edward's Volvo, the city lights flying by. Jackson pretty much fell asleep when Edward put him in his booster seat. He snored lightly in the back seat.

"We will have to do this again soon," Edward said once we pulled up in front of my townhouse.

I nodded. "Next time with Lucy of course," I chuckled.

"Of course."

I opened the door and stepped out before leaning back in and grinning at Edward. "Thanks for the ride home and the wonderful day," I said.

Edward smiled gently. "It was my pleasure." I almost died when the crooked smile I began to know and love crept up on his face.

With that, I closed the door and marched up to the door of my house. Once I unlocked it, I waved to Edward and he zipped out of the parking spot and onto the road. I think I stood on my front steps just staring at the road that Edward had just disappeared down for about ten minutes before going inside.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Did you enjoy that chapter? I hope so. I enjoyed it. Anyway, check out the links for this story in my profile. I just added some links for Edward and Bella's homes. **Review please** :)_


	5. The Weekend Part II

_**A/N: **__Hey guys! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I love reading all your reviews…yeah I know I suck at responding but I'm extremely busy and unless you ask me a question, you probably won't get a response from me, but I really do read them all so please keep sending them. They encourage me to write! Anyway, here is the second part of the weekend it's rather short so I apologize for that. It's called: __**The Weekend Part II**__. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities referenced in this story, nor do I own any pop culture references made. _

_**Rating: **__M for language and sexual content._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

The morning after my dinner with Edward, I was awoken to the sound of someone pounding on my bedroom door. I groaned and threw my pillow at the wood, hating being woken up earlier than I had wanted.

"Who is it?" I bellowed in a sleepy voice.

I heard a female laugh on the other side of the door. "It's Rose, sleepy head. Get you ass out of bed! You're going shopping with Alice and me!" I frowned. She knew I hated shopping; there was no way I was going to allow this.

I clumsily climbed out of my bed and pulled the door open to see a dressed and made up Rose standing on the other side studying me and trying not to laugh at my appearance. I rolled my eyes at her; it was morning, what did she expect me to look like? A rock star? Not everyone could look like Rosalie Hale in the morning.

"Rosalie, I will not go shopping with you and Alice," I stated, crossing my arms over my T-shirt and trying to look cold. Obviously my body had a mind of its own, because I yawn, breaking my cold stare on my brother's girlfriend and ruining the illusion of bitch.

Rose chuckled and I scowled. "Please, Bella, I don't want to go by myself."

"You'll be with Alice. Last time I checked that didn't mean you were by yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. I don't want to go without my best friend. I don't know Alice well, and what if she goes psycho since Jasper won't be there? She could be totally different and I want my safety net. You would ask me if the roles were reversed." She shot me her puppy dog eyes that pretty much got her anything she wanted.

"Can't you bring Emmett?" I asked as I looked away from her heartbreaking face. I was already breaking and she knew it.

"Hell no, Emmett hates shopping more then you do and Alice wanted to have girl time," Rose replied.

"Girl time?" I asked with a raised brow. Since when did Rose call hanging out 'girl time'?

She rolled her eyes at me. "That what Alice called it. I was just quoting her."

I nodded. "So, what time will this 'girl time' be occurring and how long will I have to endure it?" I inquired in a soft, defeated voice. Rose had won and she knew it.

"In an hour. Alice said she wanted to get to the mall when it opened," she said with a laugh, I joined in too. "We will probably be there for a few hours. Maybe do lunch or something."

I ran my hands through my hair and nodded. "Alright, I'll get ready, but you owe me," I said, narrowing my eyes at my blonde friend/future sister-in-law.

Rose grinned and left me to get ready. As I showered, I thought about the night before at Edward's place. It had been such a good time; I only wished that Lucy could've been there. I missed her so much.

After dressing, I grabbed my phone and sent a text message to Mike asking how my little girl was. Hopefully he would respond soon and relieve my worry.

As I was about to put my phone down on my nightstand to finish getting ready, I scanned my contacts and found Edward's name. I bit my lip before deciding to send him a message.

_Edward, I had a great time yesterday. We will have to do it again soon with Lucy. Next time, I'll cook! ~Bella_

I read my message over a few times before finally deciding to send it.

I came downstairs just in time. Rose had her car keys in her hands and was standing by the door. Apparently I was late or something.

"We are going to be late," Rosalie announced, confirming my suspicion.

I shrugged. "Sorry. Isn't it good to be fashionably late anyway?"

Rose chuckled. "Not in your case. A t-shirt, sweatshirt and jeans wouldn't be what I would call fashionable, Bella. Especially since you're wearing Converse."

I shot her a glare before bidding my brother, who was watching some football game on TV and hopped into Rose's car.

Alice was waiting by the main entrance of the mall when we arrived. She was, of course, dressed impeccably in a nice long sleeved purple top with ruffles, a gray skirt and tights, and matching purple heels. She was also decked out in what appeared to be a set of real diamond jewelry. She practically glittered.

"Hey ladies!" she greeted us in her high voice that if used correctly, could break glass.

I smiled. "Hey Alice, how are you?" I asked pleasantly. It didn't escape my notice that as I talked, she was looking over my outfit. I looked like a homeless person compared to her, but I just didn't care about what I wore. I was a mom, not a fashionista.

"I'm great, you?" she asked, still studying my outfit. Thankfully, Rose broke her from her fashion judging by greeting her.

"I like your outfit, Rose," Alice complemented, brushing her fingers over the brown leather jacket my blonde friend was wearing. She also had on a mauve beaded tank top that fit her like a dream, distressed jeans with brown rounded pumps and the ring my brother got her last Christmas.

Alice and Rose talked as we walked into the mall. I pretty much zoned out the entire conversation until Alice asked me a question.

"Wait, what?" I asked sounding utterly confused and probably stupid.

Alice chuckled. "I asked you how it was hanging out with my cousin last night. Rose told me all about it. She said you came home with stars in your eyes," Alice repeated with a girlish giggle.

I rolled my eyes. I hadn't even said anything to Rose about the previous night and here she was making up shit like constellations in my eyes. Seriously, right when I got home, I told her and Emmett goodnight and went upstairs to bed. Yeah, I had a great time, but I wouldn't have said anything about stars.

"Rose doesn't know what she's talking about," I mumbled in response, putting my hands in my sweatshirt pocket as the girls began chatting again.

My phone went off when we got inside Nordstrom's. I scrambled to get it out of my bag to see that I had a new text from Mike's phone.

Hey Bella. Lucy is fine. I will have her call you later tonight. See you tomorrow – Mike

I sighed as I put my phone back into my purse. It seemed like forever away until tomorrow. I missed my little girl.

"Who was that?" Rose asked. She was holding a few handbags and some clothes on hangers. She worked fast. I hadn't even gotten a chance to browse the wallets.

I shrugged. "It was Mike giving me an update on Lucy," I responded, trying to hide the fact that I missed her like crazy.

Rosalie nodded and went on to look at some more purses, leaving me to browse them myself.

After the third store we went into, I realized that we were in the mall for four hours; I was exhausted. I had only bought one top for myself, and a few outfits for Lucy. I felt like I was hardly shopping for myself.

Alice was just as perky as she had been when we had arrived. I wondered how many cups of coffee she had had earlier today. Rose seemed to be getting tired as well, but she wasn't dragging her feet and lagging behind like I was.

"Come on, Bella! We have two more stores to get to before we stop for lunch," Alice chirped from in front of me.

I rolled my eyes. "Can't we just stop now?" I knew I sounded whiney, but I didn't care. I was tired and my feet hurt.

Alice laughed and Rose shot me an apologetic look over her shoulder. I groaned and checked my phone again. I had a text from Edward.

_Bella – I had an amazing time yesterday too. I can't wait to see you again, and of course Lucy. I would love to eat some dinner you prepared. It's a fair trade. I'll call you later. –Edward_

I grinned down at the phone. Edward was going to call me later; and we didn't even have plans.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

I felt like a little schoolboy when I received Bella's text. She had enjoyed spending time with me. If I were to die now, I would die a happy man.

My parents had taken Jackson for the day, saying something about taking him to the zoo. Normally, I would've gone with them, but I had a lot of work to get done so I sat at home in my office while my son and parents frolicked at the zoo.

I sighed and re-read Bella's message before responding. Alice had sent me a text a few hours before announcing that she was shopping with Bella and Rose today. She also put a wink face at the end. I hoped by now they would be finished shopping and resting, but knowing Alice, they'd be shopping until the mall closed.

I tapped my pen against the surface of my desk as I sent out the message to Bella. I hoped she would respond soon and that she wouldn't be freaked out that I basically told her I would be calling her later like a needy boyfriend.

Ah, her boyfriend. Just thinking the word and having it attached to her made my heart clench. Could that ever happen between us? Did she even think of me that way, because I sure as hell thought of her that way?

After a few minutes and no response from Bella, I reluctantly got back to work, typing away on my computer and trying to focus on the article.

By five in the evening, my parents and Jackson returned to the apartment and Bella had yet to respond to my text. I was slightly depressed by that fact, but I put on a smile as I greeted them.

"Hey guys, did you have fun?" I asked after I had let them inside. My little boy had a new stuffed lion and a zebra figurine.

My father, Carlisle, smiled at me. "We had a wonderful time, didn't we Jackson?" he replied, scooping up my son in his arms and tickling his sides.

Jackson giggled. "Yeah, grandpa and grandma bought me these!" he yelled after my father had stopped tickling him. He thrust the animals in my face forcing me to grab them.

"Was he good for you guys?" I asked turning to my mother, Esme, while my father chased Jackson into his bedroom.

My mom smiled at me warmly and reached out to rub my shoulder. "He was wonderful. He always is."

I smirked. My boy had always been a gentleman. Even at birth. He never cried or had hissy-fits. Hopefully his attitude wouldn't change as he got older. If his attitude stayed the same, he would grow up to become a wonderful man.

I was about to get my mother a glass of water from the kitchen when my phone went off. I quickly took it from my pocket and saw that I had a new text from Bella. I felt freaking giddy.

"You can take that, I know where your glasses are," my mom said with a smirk before walking off to kitchen and leaving me with my phone.

I smiled and opened the message.

_E – sorry it took me so long to respond. Alice was killing me through shopping and forced me to try on clothing that will never see the light of day. Anyway, I will be waiting for your phone call. ~Bella_

I grinned at my phone before closing it, opting not to message her back with questions about her day and just wait to ask those when I called.

I found my mother seated at the kitchen table with a glass of water and the latest Time magazine. She smiled when I entered the room and gestured for me to sit down with her.

She closed the magazine and just grinned at me. "So, Jackson and Alice have been telling me about two girls you had a play date with."

I smirked. Alice would drop the bomb. It was her nature. Jackson was a kid and he just pretty much told everyone everything if he was comfortable with him or her.

"Jackson had a play date with Jasper's sister's boyfriend's sister's daughter." Wow, that was a tongue twister. My mother laughed.

"Well, from what I hear, the play date wasn't only beneficial for your son, but also for you," she said with a raise of her eyebrow.

I looked down, trying to hide my emotions from my mom. She could always read me so well.

"Bella is wonderful," I said simply. "Her daughter is great, too. She and Jackson hit it off really well."

My mom nodded. "You should invite her to our family barbeque next Sunday. She can of course bring her daughter. I really want to meet them."

I bit my lip and glanced up at my mother. "I don't know. It might be uncomfortable for her. I really don't know her that well."

My mother shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "I understand, just keep it in mind. You might change your mind."

Three hours later, my parents had left and I had just put Jackson to bed. I settled down in the living room with my phone in my hand, feeling like a high-schooler again because I was so nervous to call Bella. I had never really called her just to talk to her; we had always talked on the phone when we were getting together.

I took a deep breath and finally called her. She answered on the third ring.

"You're not busy right now, are you?" I asked, hoping I wasn't interrupting anything.

"Nope, just got off the phone with Lucy a little while ago," she replied with a sigh. I could tell she missed her daughter.

"How is she? Is she enjoying her weekend with her dad?"

"I think so. She seemed happy, tired, but in good spirits. How was your day?"

We talked on the phone for about two hours about nothing too spectacular, but interesting at the same time. I told her stories about my boring day, and she told me about her shopping trip with Alice and Rosalie.

We also talked about high school and everything in between. We didn't even realize how long we had been talking until Bella glanced at the clock and pretty much freaked out. It was quite hilarious.

Once we said our goodbyes, I headed off to bed to dream of a lovely brunette with crazy stories and a wonderful mind.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Yeah, I know the chapter isn't very long and I'm sorry, but wouldn't you rather have longer chapters when they actually are together and not just talking via text messages and phone calls? Yeah…that's what I thought. Anyway…check out all the links I have for this story in my profile and add me on livejournal. Please review. They give me warm fuzzies!_


	6. Thankful

_**A/N: **__Hey everyone! Thank you all for your feedback. I know you wish I would update sooner than I do, but I'm really busy. Luckily, I just finished one of my other stories, so this one should be updated more often. Just thought I'd let you know that there are pics of Edward's apartment up now, as well as photos of what Bella and Emmett's place looks like. Alright, here you go. Chapter 6 is called: __**Thankful.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities or pop culture references made in this story._

_**Rating: **__M for language and sexual content later on._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

Mike brought Lucy back to me at exactly eight Sunday evening. It felt so freaking good to have her back, to know she was safe. I pretty much kicked Mike out of the house when he brought her. I didn't want to see him; I wanted to see her.

Once Mike had left, Lucy asked if she could watch a movie. Emmett scooped her up and grinned, he loved movies, even if they were for children. He carried her over to the cupboard below the flat screen we had recently purchased and browsed DVDs with her. Lucy studied the spines of the DVDs for a few moments before pulling one out and holding it above her head. Emmett took the DVD from her and examined it, smiling brightly before putting it in the DVD player.

"What movie did she pick?" I asked from my place on the couch. I was all ready for some cuddling with my daughter.

Rose came downstairs at that moment, kissing Lucy quickly on the cheek before setting onto the other couch, probably ready for some snuggling with her boyfriend.

"We will be watching _Shrek_," he announced just as the _Dreamwork's_ into began, signaling the start of the movie.

I smiled. Lucy always loved _Shrek_ and so did Emmett. She told him he reminded her of Shrek and that Rose reminded her of a blonde Fiona. Sometimes they would reenact a scene for Lucy if she were sad. It was quite humorous.

Lucy grinned at me before running towards me and hopping on the couch, nestling close to my side. Emmett sat down with Rose after turning out the light.

I quietly took my phone from the table next to the couch, deciding to text Edward.

Hey Edward! I just thought I'd let you know that Lucy is alive and well and back in my arms. ~Bella

I sent the text and made sure my phone was on the vibrate setting so if, or when, he responded, it wouldn't interrupt the movie. I set the phone on my lap and giggled at the crazy characters on the screen.

Less then five minutes later, my phone vibrated. It was a response from Edward.

Bella, that's great to hear! Jackson and I can't wait to see her again. (We can't wait to see you either!) – Edward

I smiled down at the phone. I wanted to respond, but there really wasn't much I could say that wouldn't be going totally off subject. I closed my phone and put it back on the side table.

Lucy fell asleep about halfway through the movie. I carefully scooped her up and carried her upstairs. Somehow I managed to pull the covers on her bed back with her in my arms and lay her gently on the mattress. She wiggled a little bit as I pulled the covers over her small body, but she didn't wake up.

I plugged in her nightlight before tiptoeing out of her room and back downstairs. I told Em and Rose that I was going to bed too. Watching the movie without Lucy seemed meaningless to me now with her asleep and I was tired from the shopping trip the previous day still.

As I climbed into my bed, I thought of how great it was to have Lucy back. I wished I didn't have a night class tomorrow so I could spend all day with her, but I needed to go to school. School only made me think of the fact that I needed a job. Edward had said that Alice was a manager of the Urban Outfitters store downtown and that she could probably give me a job. I hated that I actually allowed him to ask her about it sometime, I wanted to do things on my own. Unfortunately with a kid and school, you don't have much time to go running around looking for jobs. He must not have talked to her about it, because yesterday Alice had said nothing about getting me a job.

Oh well, maybe he forgot. Wasn't the first time a man in my life had forgot to do something? Mike was a great example. He forgot to put a condom on one night, and bam, I'm pregnant. Well, at least with Edward, what he forgot wasn't quite as serious.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my daughters voice and her body jumping up and down on my bed. When she noticed my eyes open, her face was right there. She was grinning and breathing heavily. I smiled slightly, wishing she would let me sleep at least until eight in the morning. Nope, her internal alarm clock was always seven.

"Morning, mommy," she said in her high voice before planting a wet kiss on my cheek.

I chuckled. "Morning, Lucy. Are you hungry or something, baby?" I asked, sitting up and stretching my arms. My body was protesting for me to lie back down, but motherhood calls.

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Can you make French toast?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Can you make French toast…please?" I corrected her. I was trying to develop manners in her before she started school. I didn't want her to just be demanding things. Unfortunately, Mike was more lenient on the whole manners thing. Every time she would come home from his apartment, she seemed to forget all about her manners.

She mumbled an apology before repeating the question with the please at the end.

I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, when you ask that way, of course I'll make you French toast," I replied, swinging my legs over the side of my bed and hopping down.

After breakfast, I took Lucy to the park a few blocks down. The playground wasn't great, but it at least had slides and a few swings.

Lucy waved at me from the top of the slide. I waved back from the blanket I had laid out on the ground to avoid getting wet from the grass. Lucy giggled as she slid down the slide, quickly climbing back up to the top to go down again.

My phone rang then. I sighed as I pulled it out of my purse. The caller ID said it was Alice. I winced. Hopefully she didn't want to go on another shopping trip. I didn't think I could handle another one for at least a month or two.

"Hey, Alice," I said in a worried tone as I watched my daughter go down the slide over and over again.

Alice huffed on the other end, clearly not pleased with my unenthusiastic greeting. "Well, don't sound so happy to hear from me. You're just like Edward. Always worried that I'm up to something or want to go shopping."

I chuckled; it was like she was reading my mind or something. "Sorry Alice, but after yesterdays eight hour long shopping excursion, I can't help but be worried. Anyway, what's up?" I asked more cheerfully.

"Well, I was talking to Edward a little while ago and he mentioned something about you needing a job?"

Shit, he didn't forget. "Oh he did. Awesome, yeah, I feel kind of bad just asking you and not applying, but I do need one pretty badly."

"Don't feel bad, Bella. We really need another sales person that can work a register. Have you ever worked one before? It doesn't matter if you haven't, I'm going to hire you either way."

I smiled. I had a job. "Actually, I have worked a cash register. A couple of times, actually."

"Awesome!" Alice cheered on the other end. "I was thinking that I could start training you Saturday morning, if that works for you. I know you have school a few days a week and it's easier for you to work night shifts, but I was hoping Emmett might be home on Saturday's to watch Lucy."

"Yeah I can do that. I'll figure something out for Lucy, Emmett can probably do it like you said."

"Alright, uh, do you think you could be at the down town store by seven thirty in the morning on Saturday?" Alice asked.

I grinned into the phone. "Yeah, that sounds great, I'll be there!"

Lucy was still going down the slide when I ended my call with Alice. She waved to me when she caught me staring, and I waved back before deciding to send a text to Edward.

E – I just got a call from Alice. She gave me a job. Thanks for remembering! I owe you one! ~B

Lucy ran up to me as I hit send. I smiled and ruffled her hair. "Are you ready to go baby?" I asked as she settled down on the blanket next to me.

She nodded. "I'm tired. Sliding is fun."

Once we were home, I checked my phone to see if I got a response from Edward. Unfortunately, there were no new messages.

Lucy begged me to turn on the TV. Apparently Dora was on and she couldn't miss an episode. Lucy sat on the floor and became entranced by the Spanish/English speaking cartoon girl.

A little while later, my phone rang. I didn't even bother to check who was calling, I just answered.

"Hey, Bella, it's Edward," his velvety voice said through the phone. For some reason, it gave me chills.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked lamely.

He chuckled on the other end. "Oh, not much, just working on my article here at home. I just put Jackson down for a nap." He paused. "So, Alice gave you a job?"

I smiled and cradled the phone against my ear. I felt like a teenager again, talking to the hot guy from school on the phone. "Yeah, she did. I start Saturday. Thank you for remembering to talk to her about it, by the way."

"It was no problem, I wanted to help."

The statement only made my smile widen. "Well, thank you." I paused. "Lucy was asking about you and Jackson when we were on our way home from the park. She can't wait to play with you," I told him. Lucy really was excited. She practically begged me to arrange for them to play again.

"Jackson has been asking about you and Lucy as well. He even kept his fort the two of you made up. He says he wants to show Lucy before he takes it down," Edward said with a soft laugh that sounded like music to my ears.

"Aw, that's sweet. Didn't we use some of his bed sheets though?"

"Yeah, he made me bring out some of his old sheets to sleep in so he could leave it up," he told me. "What are you doing Friday?"

I quickly got up and crossed the room to check the calendar. Nothing was written for this Friday. "I'm not doing anything, why?"

"Well, I was hoping you and Lucy might want to come over. She can check out his tent and then I can finally take it down."

I laughed. "Is that the only reason you want us to come over? So you can take down that tent?" I teased.

"Of course not. Jackson adores Lucy, and I happen to adore you. This only has a little bit to do with the tent," he responded.

Holy shit. He adores me. "Um, alright, yeah, we can come. Uh, what time?" I asked, unable to tease him anymore.

He thought for a moment. "Um, how about six in the evening. I have to work all day. I actually have to go into the office."

"Sounds great," I squeaked, still unsure of what to say.

"Alright, I'll see you both then. Bye Bella."

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

I swear, the week only drags on when you've got something you are really looking forward to coming up. I was getting antsy to see Bella again. On Wednesday, I had the urge to just show up at her house unannounced, just so I could see her face. Luckily, I talked myself out of that one. I didn't want her to think I was a stalker.

It seemed like Bella was just as anxious to see me, as I was to see her. We talked on the phone every night before going to bed. We sent text messages to each other throughout the day. It was good to know I was on her mind, and I hope she realized how much she was on mine. I wondered if she was falling too.

Friday, I practically ran from the office to my car. It was almost time to see her again, and I couldn't freaking wait.

On the way home, I almost hit two cars, but honestly, it didn't worry me as much as it should have. I just kept thinking of Bella. Her face, the way she laughed, how she took care of her daughter and looked after my son. She was perfect. Shit, I was in deep.

I sent home the nanny once I entered the apartment. Jackson was eating Chex Mix while watching some cartoon. Honestly, I think I was more excited about this play date than Jackson was. I mean, sure when I told him what the plan was a few days ago, he jumped up and down with joy, but when the day came, he was chilling on the couch while I ran around the apartment looking like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to tidy up and get ready.

At exactly six in the evening, there was a knock on the door. Jackson's gaze tore away from the TV at exactly the same time as mine did. I peered through the peephole and saw Bella and Lucy waiting outside in the hallway, Bella balancing a covered plate in one hand, and holding Lucy's hand in the other. I shot a grin at Jackson causing him to jump off the couch and bolt toward the door as I opened it.

Bella grinned at me. "Hello, Edward," she greeted me, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Her gaze shot down to my son. "Hey, Jackson."

"Hi Bella and Lucy!" Jackson and I greeted them as the same time. My son and I looked at each other briefly before breaking out into giggles. Bella and Lucy joined in on the laughter as well.

Once our laughter had ceased, I took the plate from Bella and led her and her daughter inside. I set the plate on the table, curious about what she brought, but I didn't peek. When I looked back at the two girls, Lucy was gazing around the apartment with Jackson by her side, while Bella stared at me with a warm smile on her face.

Jackson tugged on the fabric of Lucy's shirt. "Come on, Lucy, I want to show you the tent your mommy and I made a few days ago!" he said excitedly, grabbing Lucy's arm and dragging her to his room.

Bella took a few steps toward me. "So, the tent held up all week?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Surprisingly, it did. You and Jackson have great craftsmanship."

Bella snorted. "Yeah right. I can't even build a fire."

I let out a laugh before letting my eyes wander to the covered plate she brought. I was too damn curious as to what she could've made.

Bella noticed my gaze and took a few steps closer to the table and me. She was literally six inches from my face as she removed the tin foil covering the plate's contents. She had made chocolate chip cookies, and it looked like they were made from scratch.

Bella looked up at me with her beautiful eyes and smiled slightly. Her close proximity made me week in the knees. "Would you like to try one?" she asked. I couldn't help but stare at her mouth when she asked this. It looked beautiful when she talked.

I couldn't bring myself to respond vocally, so I just nodded. She gingerly picked up a cookie and brought it to my mouth. My eyes widened. Was she going to feed this to me? She pressed the cookie against my lips, urging me to take a bite. Holy fuck! She was! I opened my mouth a bit into the cookie. It was fucking heaven; not just the cookie, but her.

"Is it good?" she asked in a soft, seductive voice, her eyes smoldering.

I nodded, trying to get my voice to work. "They rival my mother's," I managed to say.

Bella grinned. "I shall have to try my rival's chocolate chip cookies then," she said with a chuckle.

I smiled and nodded in agreement. My mother loved cooking. "Well, if you want to, you can come to the barbecue my parents are throwing Sunday. She always makes her famous chocolate chip cookies then," I said without thinking. Honestly, I hadn't planned on asking Bella to come to the family barbecue when my mother had suggested it last weekend. If I wanted to actually date Bella, I didn't want to freak her out by moving too fast.

Bella blinked a few times, her face looked a little surprised, but she quickly put a smile on her face. "I would love that, actually."

My eyes widened in surprise and happiness. "Awesome, um, you should bring some of these cookies there. Would you like me to pick you and Lucy up?" I asked, trying to keep my excitement from taking over my entire being.

She blushed and nodded. "That would be great, especially since I don't know where your parents live."

I chuckled. "Well…once you see the house once, you can't really forget it."

Bella looked at me with a confused expression, but didn't question me. Instead, she carefully took my hand and led me into my son's bedroom to play with our kids.

* * *

_**A/N: **__HOLY SHIT. Are you excited for the barbecue? I am. Alright, so leave reviews! I enjoy reading them and even though I don't respond to most of them, I will respond if you ask me a question that I can actually answer. **Lets see if I can get to 300 reviews**, shall we. Alright, check out all the links I have up in my profile for this story. _

_Reviews are better than feeding Dadward cookies…not really, but it's almost a tie._


	7. Barbecue

_**A/N: **__Alright, we made it past 300 reviews! Thanks guys! I love you all! Please keep reviewing. Your reviews make my day and I'm sorry if I don't respond and you want a response! Just ask questions or something and I will answer them if I can. You can see pictures of Bella and Alice's outfits in my profile. Anyway, here is the chapter 7. It is called: **Barbecue**. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Twilight or it's characters. I also don't own any celebrities mentioned or pop culture references made. _

_**Rating: **__M for language and later sexual content._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

When I arrived at Urban Outfitters for my first day of work on Saturday, I couldn't help but be nervous. I was also tired from the night before after staying at Edward's place till about nine in the evening and having to wake up at five in the morning to get to the shop at seven.

I slid out of my car, grabbing my coffee from the cup holder before locking the doors and making my way to the store. I chuckled softly when I noticed Alice waiting by the glass doors, anxiously looking outside. When she noticed me, she started jumping up and down and waving frantically at me. I smiled and gave a small wave back before she opened the doors and led me inside.

"Hey Bella! I'm so excited for today! I know we are going to have a blast. You will love it here!" Alice exclaimed, talking way to quickly for my tired brain to even register what she was saying.

She stared at me, waiting for me to respond. "Oh, um, hey. Yeah, I guess I'm excited, just tired."

She nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. Plus, Edward told me you were at his house pretty late. Hey, at least you have coffee."

I raised an eyebrow. It seemed Alice always knew whenever I hung out with Edward. Was he like a teenage girl, and every time I would leave, he would call his bestie, Alice, and tell her all about what we did. I wondered if they compared breasts and traded clothes.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

She smiled, hooking her arm through my elbow and leading me toward the back of the store. "Oh, I called him last night," she replied, opening a door that lead to a hallway containing other doors. She opened the closest door to my right, dragging me inside.

"So you guys…talk about me?" I asked nervously before eyeing the room we had entered. It appeared to be a break room. There was a small table with four chairs, a refrigerator and microwave.

Alice shrugged. "Sometimes. I heard you're coming to the BBQ on Sunday. Oh, by the way, this is the break room and also where you clock in and out."

Alice pointed to a chart on the wall where everyone's time code was written neatly. I noticed my name and four numbers at the very bottom. "That is your code. How about you clock in now," she said, smiling softly while stepping back to allow me access to the time clock.

I hit the numbers from my code on the keypad on the clock, causing it to make a beeping noise when I hit enter.

Alice hooked our arms together after I had deposited my purse in a closet in the corner. She led me back out of the room and into some office. "This is my office," she announced as she grabbed something from a drawer.

I studied the space for a moment. She had a an couple year old computer, pink pens with feathers coming out of their ends, and a pink boa draped across the back of her desk. It was totally Alice.

"Here is your name tag," she said, handing me the white piece of plastic with my name printed across it. I quickly pinned it to my shirt and let Alice drag me back to the store. Apparently it wasn't opening until ten, but Alice had wanted to show me around first.

She had just shown me how to work the cash register when she asked, "What are you wearing to the BBQ tomorrow?"

I blinked. "Um, not sure yet."

"Well, I thought I would tell you that the Cullen family barbecue's are not your average barbecue. We get pretty dressed up."

I frowned. I hated dressing up. Why did everyone else have casual barbecues, but the one I get invited to is a dressy one?

"What are you wearing?" I asked unenthusiastically. I was no longer looking forward to this Sunday.

Alice perked up at the question, her eyes glittering with excitement. "I'm wearing this adorable periwinkle dress with matching shoes along with my Donna Karen blazer. I'm also going to use my Prada bag and these amazing earrings my parents got me last year."

My eyes widened. She was really getting dressed up. The only big label clothing I owned was on sale from when I went shopping with Alice. All of that stuff had been casual wear anyway.

"I guess I'll have to borrow something from Rose for tomorrow then."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was Sunday now, and time for me to put on my clothes. Rose had brought over a few dresses for me to choose from. The only one that didn't make me look like a slut was a yellow one with gray beading around the bust line and the sweetheart neckline. It was a little big in the top, since Rose was bustier than me, but it looked really cute.

Rose was dressing Lucy for me while I chose what else to go with the dress. I picked out some gray ballet flats, a gray bag, the sparkly bracelet my mom got me last year, a beaded necklace, and my jean jacket. Once I had my outfit on, I glanced in the mirror at the work Rose had done on my hair and my face. I actually looked pretty good.

I shot my reflection a smile before making my way to Lucy's room to see how she and Rose were doing. I walked in just as Rose was putting on my daughter's shoes.

"Mommy! You look bootieful," she said in her high voice, trying to get away from Rosalie to get to me.

"Thank you, baby. You look beautiful too," I said with a grin. She did look adorable. She was wearing a light pink sundress with some mary janes.

"Thanks!" she said. Rose finished strapping her shoes and my little girl rushed over to me, wrapping her arms around my legs.

I smiled down at her, and brushed the hair out of her eyes with my hand. "You excited to see Jackson and Edward today?" I asked, picking her up and kissing her on the cheek.

"You do look nice Bella," Rose said. "What time is Edward supposed to get here to pick you up?"

I glanced at the clock on Lucy's nightstand and almost screamed. "Um, right now actually."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, causing me to jump. Lucy clapped her hands. "They're here!" she squealed.

I smiled at her and nodded before heading down the stairs with her in my arms and opening the door.

Edward stood outside, leaning against the door frame, Jackson holding his hand and looking at Lucy and me with an excited expression. Edward was wearing a crisp white button down and a nice blazer with some dark jeans. Jackson wore khaki pants with a bright blue polo and a jacket. They both looked so handsome. Especially Edward.

"Hey," he said, his crooked smile gracing his lips. I couldn't stop the smile that broke out on my face as I set Lucy down to greet Jackson.

"Hi," I croaked, my voice softer than usual. His eyes sparkled as he looked over my outfit.

"You look really nice," he said, still smiling and making my heart skip a beat.

I blushed and broke eye contact with him to look at my shoes; a much less appealing view. "Thanks. You look nice too," I mumbled, glancing over at Lucy and Jackson who were chattering about some new toy.

Edward cleared his throat and I looked up at him. "You ready to go?" he asked. He sounded nervous.

I nodded and scooped up Lucy while he picked up Jackson. We took Lucy's car seat out of my car and put it in Edward's. I wished those damn things didn't take so long to install and uninstall. It probably took us twenty minutes to do all that before we were on the road. I just couldn't wait to do that again at the end of the day.

Now, as we drove to one of the rich gated communities of Seattle, I grew extremely nervous. His parents were well off, that much was clear. I had never had all that much money, or new anyone besides Edward who was rich. I knew I was going to feel out of place, and that just caused my stomach to twist into knots.

"You okay?" Edward asked after we had entered the Blakely Woods Gated Community. The houses here had to be over a million dollars. They were huge. I guess since Edward's father was the editor in chief of Cash magazine; he would have a nice house. I wondered what his mother did.

I gave Edward a smile, trying to make myself look less nervous. "Yeah I'm fine." I paused. "What does your mother do?"

Edward turned down a street with a bunch more million-dollar houses. "She's an interior designer. She designed a lot of the interior in most of these houses."

I nodded. So both his parents were loaded. This should be interesting.

When Edward pulled into the driveway of one of the biggest mansions I'd seen, I almost threw up. "This is it?" I asked in shock. This house was probably more of a three million dollar house.

Edward chuckled as he opened his door. "Yup."

I held onto the door handle, still looking at the house through the window. Lucy was calling for me from the backseat, but I was still looking at the house. My door opened suddenly and I almost fell out. "Shit," I muttered, grabbing hold of the seat and looking up to see Edward holding my door open.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were holding onto the door! Are you okay?" he asked with a worried voice.

I gave him a small smile before climbing out of the car on my shaky legs. I was staring at the damn house again. Luckily, Lucy broke me from my trance by shrieking for me. I blinked and rushed over to the side of the car she was at. Edward was on the other side getting Jackson out.

For some reason, see him helping his son out of the car and me doing the same with Lucy made me feel like we were married with kids. A thought like that should have scared the crap out of me, but for some reason, it didn't. We weren't even dating, yet that thought felt so right.

I smiled at him from across the car, my imagination starting to run wild as he grinned back.

"Edward! Jackson!" a lovely voice called from the front of the gigantic house. I grew nervous again.

Edward smiled at the owner of the voice and Jackson waved as they began walking hand in hand to the women.

I adjusted Lucy on my hip and slowly turned toward the woman's voice. She was beautiful, simply beautiful. Yes, she was older, but that didn't seem to make her any less gorgeous. She was wearing a modest green dress that fit her like a glove. Her hair hung just below her shoulders in large curls, a caramel waterfall. The same copper as Edward's. She had to be his mother.

She bent down to give Jackson a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he bolted through the open door and into the house. I began making my way up to the front steps as she greeted Edward warmly.

When Lucy and I were about ten feet from her, she grinned at us and waved. She seemed genuinely happy to see Lucy and me. Lucy buried her face in the crook of my neck, nervous and scared to meet someone new, even if she seemed like a wonderful women.

When I stood right in front of her, I noticed she had Edward's green eyes. I would have to thank her for passing them down to her son sometime.

"You must be Bella and Lucy!" she exclaimed. "Edward has told me so much about the both of you! I'm so glad you were able to come! I'm Esme Cullen, Edward's mother."

I felt Lucy turn her head slightly against my neck to look at Esme. Esme must have noticed because she winked at her, causing Lucy to bury her face again.

"It's great to meet you. You have a wonderful home."

She smiled gently. "Thank you. Would you like to come inside? I don't want to keep you here on the steps all day. I know everyone else would love to meet you."

I nodded, allowing her to take my free hand and lead me into her palace.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

Bella and my mother were getting along fantastically. I knew they would, but actually seeing it was wonderful.

Lucy eventually stopped being the shy little girl that she is and allowed for Esme to hold her. My mom didn't have any granddaughters in the family yet. Just Jackson and my cousin Kate's little one year old, Gregory. When I was still with Tanya, she had hoped I would bring her a granddaughter after Jackson, but that never happened.

Watching her with Lucy, she seemed so happy, like she had gotten what she wanted. I actually think she was plotting to steal her from Bella. Luckily when Bella came back to feed Lucy some of the snacks that had been set out on the counter before the meal was ready. Apparently, Lucy was being fussy at breakfast and had hardly eaten anything.

I noticed Jackson playing with his Uncle Garrett, so I decided to mingle with the rest of the family. Almost everyone asked me about Bella, wondering if she and I were dating or even getting married. Hearing them ask about Bella and I being married made me actually think about that, fantasize about it. It was wonderful.

Alice and Jasper arrived a little while later. Alice greeted me with a hug and kiss, Jasper giving me a strong handshake and a pleasant hello.

"Where's Bella?" Alice asked after maybe thirty seconds of small talk.

I rolled my eyes. "I think she's in the kitchen with Lucy."

Alice thanked me and rushed to the kitchen, Jasper trailing reluctantly behind her.

A while later, everyone gathered in the yard while my father barbecued. My parents had tables set up outside since the weather was actually nice for once. I kept looking for Bella, but didn't see her talking amongst my family.

Eventually I noticed her playing with Lucy and Jackson on the play set my parents had set up in the back yard. I smiled and excused myself from my Uncle Aro and crossed the yard to where she stood watching the kids go down the plastic slide.

"Hey," I murmured when I reached hearing distance.

She swiveled around and smiled at me. "Hey. I finally managed to escape Alice."

I chuckled. "She probably didn't want to leave the comfort of the deck and patio to play on the grass with the kids in those shoes she's wearing."

Bella nodded, smirking. "Exactly. She kept trying to talk me into going shopping with her again," Bella said with a look of repulsion on her face.

"Alright everyone! The food is ready!" my father called from over by the grill.

I smiled at Bella. "Well, I guess we better get over there before my cousin Marcus gets over there. There won't be anything left," I joked.

We gathered Lucy and Jackson and headed over to the patio where my family was beginning to line up. We set the children down to gather our food as well as theirs. They scampered off to the little garden with Esme who apparently wanted to show them the little koy pond.

Bella and I were gathering up food when Lucy came running back over to her. "Mommy, come. There a froggy!" she squealed tugging at the hem of Bella's yellow dress.

"Just a minute sweetie, I'm busy right now," Bella said, trying to balance the two plates she was holding.

"No, mommy! Now!" Lucy yelled. This time, she tugged more forcefully on Bella's dress, causing the garment to slide over her breasts, exposing them to the world.

I tried not to ogle at them, at her, as she screeched and dropped the plates before quickly pulling her dress back up. Everyone had stopped speaking; they were all staring at her.

Lucy was staring at her mother with confusion; she didn't realize what she had done that was so wrong.

Bella bit back a sob before rushing back into the house. I was frozen in place, I was hard from seeing her exposed, but I felt awful that she was embarrassed. This fact, made me feel like a total asshole.

My eyes darted to my mother who had emerged from the garden with Jackson, then looked to Lucy and back to my mother. Esme nodded and rushed toward the now crying little girl while I rushed into the house in search of Bella.

I found her almost right away. Her loud sobbing was coming from behind the closed door of the bathroom next to the living room. I knocked lightly on the door and Bella's sobs quieted slightly.

"Who is it?" she called from the other side of the door.

"It's me. It's Edward. Can I come in?"

She was quiet for a moment. "I don't really want to see anyone right now."

I leaned my forehead against the door and sighed. "Please, Bella?"

Again, she was quiet. After a few moments, the doorknob turned and Bella opened the door. "Okay," she said, opening the door wider and letting me inside, locking the door behind her. I raised my eyebrows and she frowned. "Alice," was all she said.

Bella sat down on the edge of the tub and I followed suit, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She began to shake as she cried. "I'm so embarrassed," she managed to choke out as she buried her face into my shoulder.

"I know. I know. But please don't be embarrassed with me."

She lifted her head and looked me in the eyes, her face only inches from mine. "But your entire family saw," she said softly.

"Yes, it's a shame they saw, but it's not like you purposely flashed them. It was an accident. Plus, I don't think it was my whole family. I believe my mother was in the garden with Jackson when it happened," I said, trying to cheer her up.

I was rewarded with a small smile. "I just had been trying not to embarrass you all day. I was trying to fit in with your family and then this happens."

"Why were you worried about embarrassing me?" I asked.

She looked away. "I don't know. I like you and I didn't want to make a bad impression on your family I guess."

I tilted her head with my hand to face me again. I smiled at her and moved my hand to caress her cheek. "You would never embarrass me," I murmured before brushing my lips against hers.

At first she was frozen and I was worried that this wasn't what she wanted. I was about to pull away when her hands wove into my hair and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. I ran my hands through her hair and groaned as she pushed her tongue into my mouth.

Unfortunately, there was a knock on the door, interrupting our wonderful kiss.

"Yes?" I called out angrily.

"It's Alice. Is Bella alright?"

I frowned; of course it would be Alice.

Bella smiled softly, pressing one more kiss to my lips before opening the door.

"I'm fine."

* * *

_**A/N: **__Oh snap, Oh snap. I know you all are probably punching the computer screen or yelling curses at Alice, but in almost every one of my stories, Alice is a major cock blocker. Why stop the trend? Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Leave me love and check out all the links for this story in my profile._


	8. Kiss Me

_**A/N: **__Wow, the response to the last chapter was fantastic! Over 60 reviews and counting! Thanks guys! You make my day! Oh, I wanted to clear things up: I like Alice a lot, but I can just picture her being a total cock block because she always seems to be everywhere at the same time and know everything. Don't think I don't like her because I totally do! Oh, and please don't hate her! She didn't know what was going on in that bathroom. She was just worried about Bella. Alright, here is chapter 8. It's called:__** Kiss Me.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities mentioned in this story or any pop culture references made. _

_**Rating: **__M for language and sexual content later on._

_

* * *

_**Edward Cullen**

After Alice came and interrupted our make out session, she whisked Bella off for some sort of girl talk, which royally pissed me off. Honestly, after the boob incident, as I began to call it, I didn't want to let her out of my sight. I was worried one of my perverted relatives would corner her and ask for another show or try to sweet talk her. Yes, some of my relatives were like that, and I didn't want to take the chance.

I settled down at a table outside near the back door so when she returned, I would be right there to protect her and comfort her. I had even turned my chair toward the door so I could keep watch at all times. Even I could admit that I was being a little crazy about the whole thing, but I was worried.

Lucy came up to me a few minutes later, her face a little red from crying. "Where's mommy?" she asked with a worried voice. She could speak really well for a three year old.

"She's with Alice. You remember Alice right?"

She nodded. "Is mommy okay? I didn't mean to make her cry."

I gave the little girl a small smile. "She's okay, just embarrassed," I told her, ruffling her hair to try to cheer her up. I didn't like seeing her sad anymore than I liked seeing her mother sad.

She stuck her arms out in front of her, a signal that she wanted me to pick her up. I smiled and gently lifted the little girl onto my lap.

"Mommy's mad at me?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, Lucy, she's not mad at you. It was all a big accident."

She nodded and snuggled into my chest, eying the door every couple of seconds for her mother.

After a few more minutes, Alice and Bella emerged from the house. Bella surprisingly looked fine and like she hadn't been crying at all. When she saw Lucy and me, she grinned. I was so glad to see that smile on her face.

"Hey," she greeted us, sitting down in the vacant seat to my left.

"Hi mommy!"

"Hey," I said with a smile my eyes studying her to make sure she was truly all right

"Where's Jackson?" she asked.

I tilted my head backward to my mother who was feeding him some barbecue chicken. Bella chuckled.

"He has barbecue sauce all over his face," she said with a giggle.

I smirked. He could be such a messy eater. "Well, he's Nana's problem now."

Bella laughed before patting her daughter's head. "You must be hungry, baby."

Lucy shook her head. "Nana Esme fed me while you were inside. Chicken yummy!"

At first Bella and I were silent. I think we were both shocked that Lucy had called my mother Nana. Then, we started laughing. Apparently, the laughter was contagious, because Lucy joined in. I started tickling her, causing the little blonde girl to squealing and giggling.

Eventually she escaped my tickle hands and rushed over to Bella for protection. "Mommy, he's even more of a tickle monster than uncle Emmy!"

We stayed at my parent's house for a little while longer before deciding to head back to Bella's place. Jackson and Lucy were getting tired and cranky and some of the adults were getting tipsy from the keg that Carlisle bought.

By the time I had parked in front of Bella's townhouse, both Lucy and Jackson were fast asleep in their car seats. I carried Lucy upstairs for Bella; she trailed behind so she could tuck her in.

Once Lucy was in bed, we went back to the car and removed Lucy's car seat and put it back in Bella's. Jackson was still asleep, drool running down his chin.

Bella and I smiled at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to do next especially after our kiss in the bathroom.

"I'll walk you to your door," I said finally, finding my courage and taking her hand as we walked up the steps.

We stopped in front of the door and stared at each other. "Bella, what happened in the bathroom was…" I paused. "Amazing. I have wanted to do that since I met you, and frankly, I don't want to stop now. Bella, I would like to know if you would go on a date with me?"

Her eyes sparkled as her mouth broke out into a smile. I couldn't control the dorky smile that came to my face. I was happy.

"I feel exactly the same way, Edward. I would love to go out with you," she said, the smile still planted on her face.

"Awesome, um, are you busy Friday night?"

She bit her lip and thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope, I'm free."

My grin grew impossibly wider. "Great, uh, so it would be alright if I picked you up at seven?" I asked. I felt like doing back flips, I was so happy.

"That sounds fantastic. I can't wait."

"I can't wait either," I said sincerely, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. My hand lingered there before moving behind her neck and pulling her to me, kissing her deeply. When she let out a soft moan, I knew it was time for me to go. I didn't want to start humping her leg or something.

I reluctantly pulled away and smiled crookedly at her. "I better go," I said. "I'll call you tomorrow."

I jogged down the steps and hopped in my car, waving at her before taking off down the street.

~*~*~*~

I was working on next month's article for Cash the next morning, when I received a text message from Bella. I grinned while I read her sweet words.

_I can't wait till Friday. – Bella_

I quickly sent a text back.

_Me neither. I just got to find a baby sitter for Jackson. – E_

It was only a few moments later that I got a reply.

_Emmett and Rose are going to baby sit Lucy that night. I'm sure they wouldn't mind an extra kid. Okay yeah, just checked, Rose said they'd love to. – B_

I smiled. Thank god I didn't have to ask Angela again. I knew I could've asked my mom, but she always went out on dates with dad on Friday night. It had been their ritual since I turned sixteen. They had such busy lives that they reserved one night out of the week to go out. It was kind of sweet actually.

_That sounds great. Tell Rosalie and Emmett thank you. –E_

Bella's response was almost immediate.

_Will do. Hey, what are we doing on the date? Alice insists on knowing because she wants to dress me. I'm at work right now, BTW. –B_

_Bragging about going on a date with me, huh? Well, it's going to be a surprise, but I'll call Alice later to let her know how she should dress you. ;) –E_

After I sent the text, I began to wonder how Bella's job was going. She said she was at work, was the day slow? We had never really talked about her new job at the barbecue. I suddenly had the urge to go visit her. To hell with the article I'm supposed to be writing. I'm texting her anyway, either way I wouldn't get the damn thing done.

_Edward, I HATE surprises, but I'll allow you to surprise me because you're cute. – B_

I grinned at my phone like an idiot. Yes, I was definitely going to visit her at work.

A few minutes later, I was parked in front of Urban Outfitters getting Jackson out of his car seat. He was tired because I had to wake him up for this adventure, but he was excited to see Bella again. I couldn't blame him; Bella was amazing.

I saw her right when I walked in. She was behind the cash register reading a book. Her hair was down and looked silky. I wanted to run my fingers through it. She was wearing a tank top with peacock feathers on it and an open blue cardigan with jeans. I was pretty sure she was wearing the ring that said 'We're all mad here' on it. She must have had an Alice in Wonderland fetish.

"Bella!" Jackson squealed when he spotted her. Her head shot up from the book and she broke out into a smile.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, the smile still lighting up her features.

I smiled back down at her. "Well, we figured that we would see how you were doing with the new job," I replied, putting my son down. He ran straight to Bella and wrapped his arms around her legs.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked anxiously.

Bella ran her hands through his bronze hair. "She's at home my dad. He stopped by for a visit, so he's watching her while I'm at work."

Hmm, so Bella's father is in town. "How long is he in town for?" I questioned.

"Till tomorrow. He somehow got a day off at the station and decided to come down and visit Lucy, Emmett, and me. He loves his granddaughter."

Alice came to the cash register a few minutes later, smiling her head off. "Jackson, how you doing kid?" she chirped as he rushed over to her to give her a hug.

We all talked for a few minutes before Alice brought up the date. "Edward, you have to tell me what you guys are doing so I can pick out the outfit!"

I sighed and looked over at Bella who was now blushing. It was beautiful. "I'm keeping it a secret. I will tell you later and you will have to keep your big mouth shut," I told her.

"Alright, Alright. I will be expecting a call at six tonight, but you guys should go if you're not buying anything. I know it's dead, but I don't want corporate on my ass for letting you monopolize the cashier."

I frowned. I didn't want to leave Bella so soon. We had barely gotten to talk. "Fine, Alice. I'll call you later and we will leave now." I stared at Bella for a moment, wondering if I could kiss her.

Alice must have noticed because she began dragging Jackson off, mumbling about showing him some jewelry.

I chuckled as I stepped toward Bella. She was blushing, but her gaze was locked on my lips. She wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss her.

I slowly leaned forward, both of us closing our eyes, before I pressed my lips against hers. I swear, she had the most heavenly lips I ever had the pleasure to kiss. I sucked on her bottom lip before breaking apart. I couldn't have a full-blown make out session with her while she was working and my son was only a few feet away. That would just be bad parenting.

"Call me after work?" I asked, my forehead touching hers.

She nodded before I pressed one more soft kiss against her lips.

* * *

**Bella Swan**

Good god, Friday couldn't come fast enough. I hadn't seen Edward since Monday, but we had been calling each other and texting all week. I loved talking to him, but I missed his face…and those lips.

When I came home from work Monday, I couldn't control the grin that kept creeping onto my face. Charlie was worried about me, thinking I hit my head or something. I didn't want to tell him about Edward yet, but Emmett of course, ruined that when he noticed my grin and blamed it on Edward. Charlie went in full cop mode after that, asking anything and everything about Edward Cullen.

Apparently, if Edward and I were still hanging out the next time he came to visit or I came to visit him, he wanted to meet him.

Once dad had left on Tuesday, I smacked Emmett upside the head about three times. Lucy laughed and wanted me to do it again. Apparently, she liked it when I inflicted pain on her Uncle. I liked it too.

Alice had just arrived at the town house, carrying a couple bags and a makeup kit. She looked frightening carrying the things; like she meant business.

Rose sat on my bed with Lucy as Alice went to work on my hair. She was the one who usually got me ready for anything semi-fancy. I think she was a little jealous that I was allowing someone else to pretty me up instead of her. But she liked Alice, so she didn't say anything.

"Rosie? Why is mommy getting her hair done my Alice?" Lucy asked from her spot on Rosalie's lap. She was starting to get squirrelly and I knew Rose would have to get her a toy or play with her so she could stay in here with us.

Rose smiled at my little girl. "She's going on a date with Edward."

Lucy looked confused. "What's a date?" she asked.

"A date is when a boy and a girl who like each other go and do activities that interest them," Rose replied awkwardly.

"Oh," Lucy said still looking confused before looking back at the maniac pixie that was curling my hair in big loose curls. Alice said that when she was done, my hair would be curly sex hair. I had no idea what that meant, but so far, it looked good.

"Mommy? You like Edward?" Lucy asked.

I almost nodded, but remembered the curling iron. "Yeah. Do you like him?"

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Is Jackson going on the date too?"

Rose laughed and answered for me, "No, Lucy."

By the time Alice had finished my hair, Rose had taken Lucy downstairs to play with Uncle Emmy. Rose watched Alice carefully as she began to put on the soft make up that would apparently make me look stunning.

It was almost 6:30 when Alice told me it was time to put on my outfit.

"Trust me, it will look hot on you," Alice told me, pulling the pink and black cocktail dress off the hanger and grinning at me.

"I trust you," I mumbled. The dress was cute, but not something I would pick out myself. I was a more t-shirt and jeans kind of gal, and only dressed up a little bit for work. I really needed to go shopping if I was going to be going on fancy dates and to fancy barbecues.

"The dress has straps, so I don't think anyone will be pulling it down," Alice teased, unzipping the dress for me before she and Rose left the room so I could change.

Of course, the dress fit me like a glove, and I actually was glad it had straps. I probably wouldn't be able to wear a strapless dress ever again after the barbecue incident. At least, I wouldn't wear one around Lucy.

"You look hot, Bella," Rose commented when I let them back into my room.

Alice nodded in agreement. "You do. Now, lets complete the outfit, shall we?"

She grabbed the other bags and pulled out shoes, a bag, and jewelry. God, I wonder how much she spent!

"Alice, how much do I owe you for all of this?" I asked, slipping on the round toe, black sequined pumps. I hated heels, but these were actually cute. They made my feet sparkle and my legs look a mile long.

Alice waved her hand and rolled her eyes. "Bella, don't worry about it. My parents are rolling in the dough and I get paid pretty well managing Urban Outfitters. Plus, the dress is from Forever 21, so it's really cheap."

"I really don't like it when people spend money on me," I said frowning. I really didn't care how cheap the stuff was. She was still spending money on me.

Alice giggled. "Well then, maybe you should reconsider this date." She paused and gave me a stern look. "Bella, I love spending money on people. Especially if I'm buying clothes. I pretty much decided after seeing your clothing choices that you need a new wardrobe. Expect a full closet of clothes by Sunday. No arguments."

I scowled at Alice. She would not be buying me clothes.

I was about to start yelling at her when I heard the doorbell ring. Shit. He was here.

Alice made a face. "He's early. What a freak," Alice muttered, grabbing the jewelry off of my vanity and putting it on me. It was cute, black and beaded. It looked good with the dress.

Rose giggled at Alice's comment. "He probably just wanted to make sure Jackson was cool with staying here."

Alice eyed her curiously. "Hmm, well aren't you Miss mommy. And I thought it was her this whole time," Alice said, pointing at Rosalie, then at me.

"Hey, I've had a lot of practice with Lucy!" Rose said.

The girls made me wait until 7:02 to go downstairs. They said I couldn't go down at 7:00 because then I would be some anal bitch who is always exactly on time. I honestly didn't understand why I couldn't go down there when I was all ready, but I listened to them and went downstairs two minutes later.

Honestly, when I was walking down the stairs, I felt like I was living that scene in She's All That where Rachel Leigh Cook's character has just been made over, and walks in slow motion down the stairs to that Kiss Me song, while Freddie Prinze Junior stairs at her with wonder.

That was basically what happened. Just no music, and no Freddie (thank god). I smiled at Edward when I reached the bottom step. He looked delicious in his black suit with no tie. His button down was opened a little, exposing some of his beautiful chest. He had a little chest hair. I liked it.

"You look gorgeous," Edward murmured, his eyes raking my body. I really wanted to attack him and fuck him on the floor in the living room, but there were too many witnesses. One of them being my daughter, which would be really gross.

"Thanks, you look nice too," I said softly. I tried to bat my eyelashes at him like I used to do when I'd flirt back in high school, but I was so out of practice it probably looked like I had a twitch.

We stared at each other until Emmett snorted. "What?" I grumbled, giving him the stink eye.

He chuckled, pulling Lucy into his lap. She was so distracted by the cartoon on the TV she barely notice. Jackson was sitting next to Rose with the same expression as Lucy on his face.

"Are you guys going to just stare at each other or are you going to go on the date?" my brother's voice boomed.

I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to respond.

"Ready to go?" Edward asked.

I nodded. I kissed Lucy on her forehead and thanks Alice and Rose. Edward did pretty much the same before opening the front door for me and leading me to his car with his hand on the small of my back.

"You ready for tonight, Miss Swan?" he asked playfully.

I giggled and nodded, unsure of what to say back.

He opened my door for me and helped me in the car. He even put on my seat belt for me, earning him a look from me.

He chuckled. "I just wanted to be close to you," he said in a soft, deep voice.

I bit my lip and stared at him, his face just inches from mine. I decided to be bold and leaned forward capturing his lips with mine.

The kiss didn't last long, but it left me breathless anyway. Edward smiled gently before tilting his head toward the house. You could clearly see three adult bodies peeking through the sheer curtains in the living room.

"Oh, for god's sake."

* * *

_**A/N: **Sorry that the whole date wasn't in this chapter, but if I didn't cut it off, the chapter would've been way long. Yeah, yeah, you probably wouldn't have minded, but I don't want some strangely long chapter and the rest be really short. Okay, so I hope you liked the quick update and the chapter. Make sure to review and check out all the links and crap in my profile. There is a new poll up so take it._


	9. Wonderful

_**A/N: **__Holy freaking crap you guys! I love you and your reviews! You guys rock! Thanks! Oh, I forgot to tell you, you could see a couple of Bella's outfits from this and the last chapter in my profile. I'm cool like that, shut up. Oh, check out the play list too. I've been trying to update it accordingly. I hope you all had a Happy Holiday this year! Anyway, enough of that stuff. Here is Chapter 9, it is called: __**Wonderful.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities referenced in this story or any pop culture references made. _

_**Rating: **__M for language and sexual content later on._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

When the three children in adult bodies noticed that Edward and I had spotted their spying, they quickly disappeared from the windows. They needed to work on their spy skills, or just stop being creepy all together. I was hoping they would go with the latter.

Edward pulled out of the parking space in front of my house; Emmett had returned to the window. I flipped him off even though I was pretty sure he couldn't see me. Hey, it made me feel better.

I smiled and turn to look at the beautiful man driving. "So, can you tell me where we are going tonight?"

He chuckled. I love his chuckle. "I'm not giving you any details, Bella. All I will tell you now is that we are going to dinner."

I pouted and he laughed again. "You're no fun!"

He grinned at me crookedly, making my heart stop for a second. "Trust me, Bella. I'm fun," he said in a low voice. I shivered.

Edward was playing music in the car from his iPod, and I asked him if I could look through it. He nodded, so I began scanning through all the artists.

"Miley Cyrus?" I asked, completely shocked that he would even allow any of the teenie-bopper music on his iPod.

Edward laughed at my reaction. "Jackson loves her. I don't know why. I keep it on there for him. I never listen to it unless he asks to hear it."

I smirked as he turned down some street; I wasn't paying attention to where we were. "Luckily, Lucy loves whatever I listen to. Plus, I don't allow us to listen to the radio. I hate the radio."

"So how do you find new music?" he asked.

I shrugged and selected 'Elevator Love Letter' by Stars from Edward's iPod. "I guess iTunes and just from friends. It's not too hard."

We asked each other various questions all the way to dinner. I was surprised to find that we were going to the very fancy, very expensive restaurant called Canlis. Edward parked in front of the building, helping me out of the seat before tossing the keys to the valet to park.

"Edward, this place is a little fancy don't you think?"

Edward opened the doors for me before taking my hand and leading us over to the hostess station. "No, I think it's perfect," he whispered as we made our way to the hostess station.

A girl with long dark hair and glasses looked up at us and smiled. "Hey, Edward. Your table will be ready in just a moment." She paused and looked over at me, while I stared at Edward with a perplexed expression. "So, this is your date?"

Edward, noticing he had been rude by not introducing me to the girl, lightly pushed me forward with his hand. "I'm sorry, Angela this is Bella Swan. Bella this is Angela Weber. She lives down the hall from me and watches Jackson sometimes."

I extended my hand to the small girl and she shook it lightly, grinning at me. At first, I thought Edward might have dated her or something, but I could tell now that she was just a nice girl. She actually looked like someone I could become easy friends with.

"It's really nice to meet you, Angela," I said, releasing her hand a moment later.

She smiled sweetly, grabbing the menus in the process. "You too. I've heard quite a bit about you from both Edward and Jackson."

I blushed and nodded. Neither of them had mentioned an Angela if I do recall. I didn't say that, of course, because she obviously liked both of them a lot.

A moment later, Angela escorted Edward and me to our table. As I passed by the other occupied tables, I snuck peeks at the food placed in front of the other various customers. Sometimes, this was how I chose my food. Seeing the food in person was sometimes a deal breaker for me. I already spotted two delicious looking dishes by the time we were seated.

Angela placed our menus in front of us and smiled. "Well, your waitress should be here shortly. Have a good night, and Edward, make sure to bring Jackson over soon. I haven't seen him in a few days and I feel like I'm going through a withdrawal. See ya!"

Edward chuckled and nodded before Angela wandered back up to the hostess station.

"She seems nice," I muttered as I scanned the menu.

"She is. Jackson loves her." He paused. "She was the reason I was able to get a reservation in this restaurant for tonight."

I looked up at him from my menu. "Is this place that hard to get in to?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes it is," he replied nonchalantly.

I went back to scanning my menu, finally noticing the prices beside the meals. Everything was almost over fifty dollars!

My eyes bugged out of my head as I dropped the menu on the table and glared at Edward. "This is way to expensive, Edward. I can't allow you to spend fifty dollars on me for freaking food!" I hissed, trying to keep my voice low to no draw attention upon us.

Edward put his menu down and smirked at me. "Yes you can, because I am. Pick out something, or I can if you refuse, but I really want to buy you dinner here, so please don't be difficult. I have plenty of money, Bella."

I glared at him for a moment longer before sighing in defeat and picking up the menu. A moment later, the waitress arrived to take our drink order and tell us all about the specials on the menu.

I just ordered some water and Edward ordered a bottle of wine for us to share. The waitress, who was a fairly attractive girl, was practically eye humping Edward right in front of me while he was selecting the wine. It was kind of pissing me off.

When she sashayed out of sight, I raised my eyebrow at Edward.

"What?" he asked when he noticed my expression.

"I'm pretty sure our waitress wanted to drag you into the kitchen and straddle you on the counter."

Edward's eyes widened. "I didn't notice."

I barked out a laugh. "Oh, well, she was being pretty obvious."

He rolled his eyes and leaned forward. "Bella, the only person I would want to drag me into a kitchen and straddle me across the counter would be you," he whispered in a low seductive voice.

My jaw dropped as he sat back in his seat with a smile on his face. I wonder if he knew that he caused my heart to stop?

The waitress returned with our drinks, I was still gaping at Edward and jumped in my seat when she asked if I was ready to order.

I blinked a few times, looking down at my menu and deciding to order the meal I had been leaning toward all night; the thirty-six dollar wild mushroom ravioli. The waitress, whose name tag said Kim, nodded and wrote down my meal on her little notepad before turning to Edward with a smile.

Edward kept his eyes on the menu as he ordered the king salmon for thirty-eight dollars. The waitress frowned as she walked away. Edward had ignored her completely.

While we waited for our food, we talked about our kids and just things we liked and didn't like. I found out that Edward hated onions and liked cats, but not dogs. He loved scrambled eggs and the band the Cure. I also found out that he didn't like talking about his ex-wife.

Honestly, I didn't mean to bring up Jackson's mom. I simply mentioned how much Jackson looked like Edward and he mentioned something about Jackson having his mothers blue eyes. I then asked what she looked like and Edward looked away, a frown on his face and he hands wadding up the napkin in his lap.

Luckily we were both saved by the food arriving and thus, putting an end to the uncomfortable conversation.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

The night had been going great. I learned so many new things about Bella as we waited for our food. I learned that about her parents divorce when she was a baby and that she lived with her father during high school. I learned that she liked both cats and dogs and had never had a pet before. I found out that she loved macaroni and cheese with hot dogs mixed in, just like I did.

Then, she asked about Tanya. Honestly, I was the one who brought her up by saying that Jackson had her eyes, but I didn't mean to. It was a response that always came from my lips when people would tell me how much Jackson looked like me. It had been ingrained since he was born.

I knew I would have to tell her about Tanya eventually, but I hated discussing her. Yes, I had fallen out of love with the women, but it was still difficult. I wadded up my napkin nervously, wondering if I should just change the subject.

Thank God for the waitress bringing out the food. Once the women left us with our meal, the subject changed and we talked about our high school experiences while we ate. Luckily, I didn't meet Tanya until college, so that topic never came up again.

Once we finished our very delicious dinners, I paid the quite pricey bill and had the valet fetch my Volvo. The Valet was about to help Bella into the passenger seat, but I quickly dismissed him, shooting a glare over my shoulder as he checked out Bella getting into the car.

Bella shot me a look when I slammed my door after getting in. "What's wrong?" she asked. I started my car and began driving to the next destination.

"Did you see how the valet was looking at you? What an asshole!" I growled, adjusting the heat before switching lanes. Bella sighed and began looking through my iPod.

"I didn't notice," Bella mumbled, selecting the song 'New Slang' by the Shins. It was one of my favorites. Apparently it was one of Bella's favorites too.

I turned down a street a little too fast and immediately felt bad because Bella clutched the door so she would be jostled. "Sorry, I guess it just pissed me off more than I thought. I shouldn't be driving like a maniac." I slowed the car since I had been going at least ten over the speed limit and took more care with my turns.

"Well, now you know how I feel," Bella said with a soft smirk.

I glanced over at her briefly, my eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You remember my description of the looks the waitress at Canlis was giving you, right?"

I nodded.

"You're mad because of that guy checking me out and I was mad at the waitress for basically ignoring you and attempting to eye-fuck you."

I chuckled. "I guess we are even now," I said, making another turn.

"Doesn't make me hate the bitch of a waitress any less, though," Bella said with a laugh.

I nodded in agreement before parallel parking down the street from Chop Suey, the club I selected for the next destination of the date.

I helped Bella out of the car and we walked hand in hand to the club. We showed them our ID's and they let us in. I had been to Chop Suey before, but I could tell by the expression on Bella's face that she hadn't.

"I love the décor," she commented as we headed toward a table by the stage set up toward the back of the club. The inside of the club was Asian inspired, decked out with a statue of Buddha, lots of bamboo, and colorful drapes.

There was a DJ in the corner playing music for the large amounts of people dancing. The live music act would start soon.

"It's pretty cool here. There is a good band playing in a bit that I thought you would like. Apparently they do a cover of a Beatles song."

Bella smiled. "I'm sure they can't compare to the real thing, but I love going to concerts. I can't wait."

A waiter made his way over to our table. I smiled to myself when he didn't eye-fuck Bella. Bella ordered some girly drink and I got a soda since I had already had a few glasses of wine and had to drive home.

Our drinks arrived right as the band was heading toward the stage. I barely paid any attention as they introduced themselves to the crowd, I watched Bella instead. Once they started playing, Bella would smile and bob her head to the music. She was really enjoying herself.

The fifth song the band played was the Beatles song 'Here Comes the Sun'. Bella and I both thought it was pretty good for a cover.

After another song, the band took a break and I went to the bar to get Bella another mojito since the waiters were all busy or at the bar anyway. It took longer than I thought it would at the bar since everyone had used the break the band took to get a refill.

When I returned to the table, Bella was talking to some blonde guy wearing ripped jeans and a Hollister t-shirt. My grip on the drink tightened as I reached the table.

I set the mojito in front of Bella and glared at the guy who had now noticed me. Bella jumped up from her chair and shot me a nervous smile. I leaned down and placed a peck on her cheek.

"Sorry, the wait at the bar was insane," I explained.

The blonde guy, who was still standing by our table, cleared his throat. I looked at him with an angry expression, but he was staring at Bella.

"Bella, aren't you going to introduce us?" he asked in an annoyed voice.

Bella bit her lip and nodded. "Edward, this is my ex-boyfriend, Mike Newton. Mike, this is Edward Cullen."

I was extending my arm out to the guy when I realized this was Mike. Mike, as in Lucy's father. The guy that knocked Bella up.

My took my hand in his and shook it firmly. "So, you're her date tonight?" Mike asked, released my hand.

I nodded; I couldn't find my voice quite yet.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked turning to Bella, glancing at me briefly as if to see if I would be shocked. That I didn't know that Bella had a daughter.

Bella took my hand and squeezed it gently. "She is with Emmett and Rose. She's fine."

Mike nodded. "Good. I would hate to see that you would leave her with some stranger. I don't want her around someone I barely know," he said, looking at me during the last part of his sentence.

I clenched my free hand, chanting in my head that I wouldn't punch this guy.

"Mike, you can trust my judgment. I try to get babysitters that I know and that Lucy is comfortable with. I'm barely comfortable leaving her with you and you are her father," Bella growled.

Mike narrowed his eyes at her. "I was about to say something, but I will resist my words since I would like to continue to be able to see my daughter. Bye Bella." He quickly stalked away, heading toward the other end of the club. What a prick.

"Edward, can we go now?" Bella asked, her voice soft. She sounded like she was going to cry.

I wrapped my arms around her in a hug, kissing the top of her head before leading her by hand out of the club.

Once we were back in the Volvo, Bella put her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry about him Edward. I had no idea he would be there and act like a fucking asshole. He hated it when I bring anyone he doesn't know around Lucy."

I laid my hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. "Bella, it's fine. I understand he's a prick. It's okay. He's trying to scare me off, but I'm not going anywhere."

Bella tilted her head to look at me. "How do you always say the right things?" she asked. Her eyes looked watery, but she wasn't crying.

I smiled gently. "I'm a writer," I responded.

Bella chuckled and lifted her face from her hands. She didn't say anything so I started the car and sped off down the road. I had planned to take her to the Space Needle, but I could tell she wasn't up for it. She looked exhausted, emotionally and physically.

The lights inside were off when we pulled up in front of Bella's townhouse. I helped Bella out of the car and we walked to the front steps with our hands entwined.

Bella dug through her purse for her keys, but when she found them, she didn't put them in the door. She looked at me under her lashes, her eyes smoldering.

"I'm really sorry about tonight. I will talk to Mike about his attitude next time I see him, but I swear I will make it up to you."

I smirked. "It's fine. He was just being protective." I paused. "I'm sure you can make it up to me somehow."

I realized after I had spoken that I sounded like I was hoping for sex. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't, because I was, but even I knew it was too soon for that. Hopefully she wouldn't misread my words.

Bella took a few steps toward me before molding her lips to mine. I groaned at the feel of her tongue running across my bottom lip, begging for entrance into my mouth. I, being the kind man I am, let her in and our tongues battled for dominance.

My arms were wrapped around her small frame, pulling her closer to me. I tried to keep my now raging erection from pressing against her, but she had other ideas. One of her arms snaked under my arm and down my back to my ass. She grasped my ass firmly in her hand, causing my lower body to buck forwards into her stomach. I let out a moan as Bella pressed harder against me, my body involuntarily thrusting against her once more. This time, we both let out a moan and somehow I broke the kiss.

Breathing heavily, I stepped back so I wouldn't attack her. She was out of breath and frozen in place, subtly eying the obvious bulge in my pants. I not so subtly adjusted myself, hissing at the contact.

Bella broke out of her frozen state and gave me a light kiss on the lips before putting her key in the lock and opening the door. She turned on the entryway light which also illuminated the living room to find Jackson and Emmett sleeping on the couch.

I tiptoed into the room and slowly lifted Jackson off the couch. He stirred in my arms as I took him out to my car and strapped him into his car seat. Surprisingly, he stayed asleep.

Bella waited for me by my car and enveloped me in a hug. When she pulled back, she smiled gently at me.

"I had a wonderful time, Edward," she said. Her word kind of reminded me of something the lead female would say in a romantic comedy film, but hearing her say them, was totally different.

I placed a kiss on her lips. "I had a great time too. I hope we can do this again really soon."

She smiled and we kissed once more before releasing each other. I waved to her as I got into the driver seat and she began heading back to the house.

"I'll call you tomorrow," I yelled to her before I closed the door and headed back to my house.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Alright, so I'm hoping to reach over 500 reviews. Want to help me achieve this? REVIEW! Also, check out all the links on my profile for this story. Have a happy new year and I will try to update soon!_


	10. Halloween

_**A/N: **__Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you all had a good one and were safe and didn't expose yourself in public. If you were wondering, my New Year was lame. End of Story. Thanks for all your reviews! We made it over 500! Alright, so this chapter skips ahead a few weeks. I figured they had to move forward, but you'll get a recap of the past month with Bella. Plus, I thought that you guys would want them to get physical faster without doing it on the second date, so this is my solution. Oh, yeah Canlis and the club they went to last chapter are really in Seattle. Google is magical! This chapter is mostly filler, but I don't think you'll mind. Okay, here it is, chapter 10 is called: __**Halloween**__._

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebs mentioned or pop culture references made in this story. All I own is this plot!_

_**Rating: **__M for language and sexual content later on._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

It had been a little less than a month since my first real date with Edward and it was now Halloween. I wandered around Urban Outfitters, folding clothes and straightening displays. It was a slow day and I couldn't stop thinking about my boyfriend. Yes – Edward was now officially my boyfriend and I was thrilled about it. Actually, everyone was pretty happy about it, well, except for Mike. He wouldn't even let me leave Lucy at Edward's while I was at work and he worked at home. He was very persistent on me always being around while he was with Lucy. So today, Lucy was being looked after by Angela, Edward's neighbor. She had pretty much become my new babysitter every time Emmett or Rose couldn't watch Lucy when I had to work.

I groaned out loud at the thought of that man and tried to get my mind back on Edward. It was Friday, and I hadn't seen him since Sunday. We were both really busy with work and me with school that we were forced to spend most of our time with each other on the weekends. Even then, we hardly got any time to spend totally alone. I loved kissing him, but I was getting a little sick of just making out when we got the chance. Maybe this weekend we would get more time to ourselves. Maybe the kids would pass out from all the Halloween excitement and we could attack each other like animals.

I sighed as a younger woman browsed the merchandise, messing up the clothing I had just folded. I didn't really mind though, since October had been pretty dead. No one was going Christmas shopping yet, and we didn't have very good sale prices yet. Plus, most of the shoppers were off at Halloween USA getting last minute costumes and finishing touches for their costumes tonight.

A little while later, the woman came to the cash register where I stood, zoning out. She was buying some weird looking necklace and a cute bag. I complemented her on the bag, trying to be friendlier. She thanked me as I began ringing up the items.

Once she left, there was only one other customer in the store and she was in the dressing room. Alice was in the back room sorting through the new stuff we would be putting up next week. She was also putting security tags on some of the more expensive items.

The only other employee working today besides Alice and me, was Maria, and she was helping the customer in the dressing room. I was hoping the customer would finish up in there soon so I could have Maria back out front to keep me company until my shift ended in an hour.

Thankfully, a few minutes later, the women emerged from the dressing room, Maria following, to pay for her items. Maria leaned against the counter as I rung up the women's clothes, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.

Once the customer left, Maria let out a loud groan. "Man, that women couldn't make up her mind! I swear, she tried on every pair of jeans in this store."

I chuckled. "I hate picky customers," I said.

Maria and I decided to refold the clothes that had been messed up and just chatted. Maria was my one of my favorite employees to work with. She was younger than me by a few years, but funny as hell.

"So, what are you doing for Halloween?" Maria asked as we made our way back to the registers to look through a magazine. Maria always brought gossip magazines with her to work and we would laugh at some of the absurd stories written in the things. It was fun.

"Edward and I are taking Lucy and Jackson trick or treating," I responded, turning the page of the magazine. "What about you?"

"Sounds lame," she teased. "I'm going to a frat party."

Maria was in a sorority at UW and was always telling me crazy stories about life in the house and all the insane parties that went down there. I couldn't wait to hear about the Halloween party the next time I worked with her.

Eventually, the clock hit four and it was time for me to head out. I wandered to the backroom where the time clock was and found Alice. She was sitting on the floor with mountains and mountains of boxes around her. It almost looked like she was residing in her own fort.

"Hey, it's time for me to head out."

Alice looked up at me and smiled. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow at eight. Tell Lucy I said hi and to have a Happy Halloween."

I smiled. "I will. Sorry we are missing your party. Have a good Halloween, Alice!" I said before clocking out, waving at her and heading toward the front of the store.

I bid Maria goodbye and greeted Julia, my fellow employee, as she entered the store.

I hopped into my car before pulling my phone from my purse. I had a text from Edward and Mike. I rolled my eyes at the one from Mike. He was asking where Lucy was…again. I reluctantly typed out a message telling him she was at Angela's and I was about to pick her up.

The text from Edward made me smile.

_I miss you. I don't think I can stand not seeing you for five days in a row. –Edward_

I sighed and immediately typed out a message.

_I miss you too, and I agree. Let's quit our jobs so we can spend more time together. Deal? – Bella_

I set my phone in my cup holder and started my car. I hooked my iPod up to the adapter and put on my special driving playlist. It was basically songs that put me at ease while driving since the traffic in Seattle got me all stressed out.

I parked outside the apartment building, texting Angela to tell her that I was there and reading Edward's response to my last text.

_Sounds like a plan. Are you almost to the apartment? – Edward_

_Yes, I am. I'll see you in a few! – Bella_

Edward had been in the office a lot the past week since the next issue of Cash was going to be published next week. He had to do finishing touches on his article and hear all about what everyone else was contributing to the magazine as well. He hated the end of the month for that reason.

I hopped out of my car, entered the lobby and made my way to the elevator. I had to wait a bit for the elevator, but eventually, the doors opened and I stepped inside. An elderly woman joined me in the small space a few moments later. She didn't say anything, just pressed the button for her floor after I did the same.

Luckily, the old woman got off at the 5th floor, because standing with her in the small cube was awkward as hell. Plus, she made the elevator smell like mothballs, which made me want to puke.

I walked off on Edward and Angela's floor, passing Edward's door on my way to Angela's. She had a paper spider taped to her door as a Halloween decoration. I knocked lightly one the wood, avoiding the spider.

Angela opened the door, Lucy sitting on her hip smiling up at me.

"Hi, mommy!" Lucy greeted me in her singsong voice.

I grinned at my little girl. "Hi, baby!" Lucy reached out for me and Angela passed her off to me.

"How was she?" I asked her as Lucy burrowed into my shoulder. She hated when I had to work, and frankly, I hated leaving her, especially since last weekend she was at Mike's.

Angela smiled gently and ruffled Lucy's hair. "She was fantastic. She always is, Bella," she responded.

"Thanks so much for watching her," I said, digging through my purse awkwardly with one hand. I found my wallet and grabbed thirty dollars, handing it to Angela. Angela smiled and told me I was paying her way too much for just seven hours. She also said to call her anytime I needed her. She adored Lucy.

We bid each other goodbye, wishing a Happy Halloween before she closed the door and I headed down the hall to Edward's door.

I knocked gently and waited. I heard Edward's footsteps sound like they were running toward the door. It sounded like Jackson was following close behind.

A moment later, the door opened and Edward stood in front of me, clad in a white t-shirt and jeans. We smiled at each other before he leaned in for a quick kiss. That was the biggest showing of affection we would display in front of the kids.

Lucy made a disgusted noise. "Ew, gross!" she said, her nose wrinkled.

Edward and I chuckled as he took my hand and led me into his apartment.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

Bella looked happy to be out of work when she arrived at my apartment with Lucy in her arms. We greeted each other before I practically dragged and Lucy into my apartment. I hoped Jackson and Lucy could run off and play, so I didn't have to hear anything more about how he was so excited to get to dress up in his SWAT costume for Halloween. I hoped Lucy wouldn't go into crazy detail about her princess costume.

"So, how was work? Was Alice talking your ear off about us not being able to make her party?" I asked, smirking at Bella as we headed to the kitchen. Bella was always hungry after work, so every time she came to visit me after she got off her shift, I would make her a snack.

She shook her head. "Not really. She understands. Plus, she was in the backroom pricing and sorting all day. I didn't see much of her."

I nodded and we went about making Bella a turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, and mayo. After we finished, we settled down at the table.

"So, is Lucy excited about tonight?" I questioned as she took a bite of the sandwich. I didn't make my own sandwich because Jackson and I had eaten not too long ago.

Bella shrugged. "She's sort of excited. She likes dressing up and getting candy, but walking from house to house gets to her. She'll probably end up having me carry her to the doors about half way through," she responded, taking another bite of her sandwich.

I chuckled. "Jackson's like that too, but only because he is using up all his energy by being so excited about the holiday that by the time he gets out there, he will be exhausted."

Once Bella had finished her sandwich, the kids were begging to head over to my parents to prepare for Halloween since we were trick-or-treating over in their neighborhood. It was only five o'clock, but the puppy dog eyes set on the kids faces had us both nodding in agreement. I bet if they were to ask if they were allowed to get tattoos using those faces, Bella and I would nod our heads without a thought.

Bella and I grabbed our costumes in one hand, and held our kids hands in the other as we headed downstairs. The doorman in the lobby smiled and tipped his hat to us as we exited the building. I smiled in return and gave a small wave before we disappeared through the doors.

When we got to the car, Bella and I busied ourselves by putting the costumes in their garment bags in the trunk. Alice had gone with us when we bought them and insisted on keeping them safe in garment bags. I didn't understand it was so important. I mean, they were just Halloween costumes, not prom attire.

After the costumes were in the trunk of my Volvo, we loaded the kids in the car. I had bought an extra car seat for Lucy so we wouldn't have to unload the damn thing from Bella's car every time we traveled together. Bella was actually thrilled with my purchase, but asked to pay me back for it. Of course, I told her there was no way she was paying me back for something I thought I needed. She let it go then, but I realized after that experience, that Bella didn't like people buying things for her; even her boyfriend.

Bella and I settled into our seats, and soon enough, we were traveling down the roads of Seattle toward my parent's gated community.

"Can we listen to Miley Cyrus?" Jackson asked from the backseat a few minutes later. I glanced at Bella, knowing well that she hated the voice on the young singer.

Bella turned in her seat and smiled at my son. "One song, but then Lucy gets to pick the next one," Bella replied. She had found an easy way out of listening to an entire Miley CD.

Bella picked up my iPod and found the offending singer, asking what Jackson wanted to hear and playing it. Bella rubbed her hand over her face during the song, almost like she was sick or upset. She just felt very strongly about music.

Once the song ended, Bella asked Lucy what she wanted to hear.

Lucy thought for a moment before smiling at Bella. "Chairlift!" she squealed a little too loud.

Bella smirked and nodded, locating the band on my iPod. "Bruises?" Bella asked the little girl in the back. Lucy nodded enthusiastically as Bella pressed play and the sounds of the band Chairlift filled the car.

I chuckled when I saw Lucy singing along in the backseat and waving her arms around in her own form of dancing.

Bella tapped my shoulder and smiled. "My kid has better taste in music then yours."

I smirked and nodded. "I can't help it if he loves that damn Disney channel," I replied.

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of my parent's enormous house. Jackson and Lucy squealed in the backseat. Lucy had really bonded with my mother the couple of times she had been there over the last month. It was really amazing to see them together since Esme had always been looking forward to a granddaughter to dote on.

My mother met us at the door once we had the kids and the costumes unloaded.

"Is everyone excited for tonight?" she asked, looking down at Lucy and Jackson with a smile. The kids nodded, grinning up at her.

She ushered us inside and led us to the kitchen explaining that the lasagna she had made for dinner was almost ready, then took our costumes to the front closet to hang them up for the time being.

Carlisle came downstairs a moment later, a smile on his face. "Hello, son, Bella, Lucy, Jackson. How is everyone on this fine Halloween evening?" he asked with a chuckle, ruffling Jackson and Lucy's hair at the same time.

The smiled up at him and answered, "Great!" at the same time.

After a few minutes of small talk in the kitchen and Jackson and Lucy playing with some of the toys my mother had brought down from the playroom that she had built for Jackson a few years ago, the food was ready.

Bella and I helped Lucy and Jackson into their booster seats before sitting down to dig in to the homemade lasagna. It was one of my favorite meals my mother made and I was happy Bella was getting to try it!

I watched as she took her first bite, chewing twice before closing her eyes and letting out a soft moan in appreciation that my dick just couldn't ignore. Fantastic, now I was at half mass at the dinner table at my parents.

"Esme, this is wonderful! You must give me the recipe. My lasagna tastes amateur compared to yours!" Bella gushed before taking another bite and smiling across the table at my mother.

My mom smiled brightly at her. She really liked Bella. "Thank you, sweetheart. Of course I'll give you the recipe. Just remind me to copy it down for you after dinner or before you leave."

Bella nodded, smiling, before helping Lucy, who was trying to eat the food with a fork, only to have it fall apart on the plate before it got to her mouth. Bella began alternating taking a bite and feeding Lucy after that; murmuring something to me about not wanting to make a mess at my parents house.

Once dinner was over, everyone put their dishes in the sink, Esme insisting that we didn't need to help her clean them up. We grabbed out costumes and headed upstairs to two of the guestrooms to get ready.

Esme stopped us on the stairs. "You get the kids ready first then send them down. I'll keep them entertained until you two are finished getting ready."

We thanked her, agreeing, and resumed our trek up the stairs, Bella and Lucy taking one guestroom, and Jackson and I taking another.

Jackson talked the entire time I helped him get into his SWAT costume. I tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but he was talking so fast and switching subject so frequently, that it was difficult and I eventually gave up.

Once I had his shoes tied, he basically bolted out of the room and down the stairs before I could blink. I shrugged and closed the door, locking it, before slipping on my vampire attire.

Bella and I coordinated and were dressing up in 15 or 16th century clothing to get an old time vampire feeling. My costume consisted of a long black coat and pants, a short cape with a collar that popped up behind my neck. I also had a ruffled top that poked out of my jacket and white gloves.

I set the gloves on my dresser as I did the makeup that Alice had bought me so I could draw blood coming down from my mouth. After that was done, I put in the fake fangs that Alice had also picked up for me, put in the red contacts, and slipped on my gloves.

Bella wasn't ready by the time I got downstairs, so Esme, Carlisle and I chatted while Lucy and Jackson played with one of those talking books with the buttons on the side.

When Bella entered the room a few minutes later, I almost pissed my pants. She looked fantastic in the navy and purple old-time peasant dress, her hair curled and hanging over her shoulders, and intense vampire makeup and fangs. She told me Alice had picked out her costume, so I would definitely be thanking the little pixie the next time I saw her.

I crossed the room to her and grinned. "You look fantastic," I said gesturing to her outfit with my gloved hands.

She blushed and looked down at her outfit. "Thanks, you look great too. I love your ruffle blouse. Very becoming of you," she teased.

We took a few pictures together and separate before grabbing our candy bags and heading out into the streets.

The first house we went to was my parent's neighbors, the Franks, who cooed the children and gave them candy. They were very excited about finally meeting Bella and Lucy since my parents had told them about them. Apparently, my girlfriend was neighborhood gossip.

After about five houses, Lucy begged Bella to carry her to the doors and to be pulled in the children's red wagon we brought just in case that happened. Eventually, Jackson joined her in the wagon as we hit up my parents street and a side street before returning to Carlisle and Esme's house.

We chatted with them for a bit, but left pretty quickly since they were getting bombarded by trick or treaters since it was still early in the evening. Bella and I had changed out of our outfits for the ride home, but Lucy and Jackson insisted on keeping there's on.

Almost immediately after we pulled out of the neighborhood, the kids fell asleep and Bella and I tried to keep conversation low so we wouldn't wake them up.

I helped Bella bring the sleeping Lucy into her house and we both stepped back out on her stoop to say goodbye.

Bella sighed and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You know, we need some alone time," she said, placing a kiss on my chin.

I smiled slightly and nodded. "I agree. I don't think we have ever been in a room alone for more then five minutes."

"You know, Alice has been begging to baby sit Lucy. I bet she would be willing to tomorrow night, if you're free anyway. I'm sure she would watch Jackson too." She brought her lips up to my lips and placed a hard kiss on them, pulling away and smiling.

"You should call her," I said, leaning down to kiss her again. This time, the kiss was heated, our tongues coming out to battle and our bodies molding against one another.

Eventually, we broke apart and Bella nodded. "I will most definitely be calling her."

* * *

_**A/N: **__LIKE OMG. What are they going to do with that alone time? Hmm…I wonder. All right, so you should all check out the link for this story in my profile. Both the kids and adults Halloween costumes are in there and so is the link for the playlist. Anyway, leave some reviews; I'm hoping to reach 600. Let's see if we can do it!_


	11. Alone

_**A/N: **__Well, I think my hiatus is over. If its not, then I'll let you know. Unfortunately, this is the only chapter I have written since I've been so busy with school and work this semester. Lucky for you, this is my last week, so I should be back full time and I may have another chapter out in a few weeks to a month. Depends on how busy I am.. Alright, so here is chapter 11. It is called: __**Alone**__._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities referenced or pop culture references made in this story._

_**Rating**__: M for language and sexual content. (There is a small lemon in this chapter)_

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

After Edward left, I tried calling Alice, but only got her voicemail. I was pretty sure she was still partying it up and probably drunk, so I just left a voicemail telling her I would talk to her tomorrow at work. Hopefully she wouldn't be too hung over to baby-sit.

When I arrived at work the next day, I walked quickly to the backroom, greeting Jessica, another one of my co-workers, on my way. When I opened the break room door, Alice came into view. She was sleeping on the table, her arms folded over the top and her head pressed against them. Apparently, she hadn't been sleeping, because when I stepped inside, her head shot up. I stifled a giggle with my hand. She looked horrible, like she didn't get any sleep the night before and hadn't had time to do her hair and makeup this morning. It actually looked like she slept in her makeup.

Alice must have noticed my almost laugh, because she glared at me. "Shut up, Bella. I can't help it that my drunk ass doesn't know how to set an alarm clock," she growled, rubbing her eyes with her hand and further smudging the makeup that already looked like shit.

"You should have just called in," I said, clocking in and shoving my water bottle towards Alice. She really looked like she could use some liquid.

She smiled at me slightly, before taking a big sip of my water. She tried to push it back towards me, but I told her she could keep it. I actually had another in my purse.

"Yeah, but then I would have to leave Jessica in charge for the day. That girl is awesome and everything, but she always flirts with the male customers and can't figure out how to set the alarm at night," Alice replied, closing her eyes and propping up her chin with her hand.

I knew she wouldn't let me be in charge because I was too new and would have to learn from her anyway. Plus, I had never closed before. I always helped open and stayed through the day.

Alice opened her eyes again and smiled softly. "How did trick or treating go?" she asked.

"It was good. Jackson and Lucy got tired quickly, but they had fun. So did Edward and I. How was your party?" I asked, knowing that she probably couldn't remember much of it if she was drunk enough.

"It was fun. I don't remember much towards the end, but I do remember kicking some chick out who wore the same fairy costume I did. She totally couldn't pull it off, Bella."

I chuckled and began contemplating on whether or not I should ask her if she would baby-sit tonight. Yeah, she was hung over, but maybe it would wear off by tonight. I guess there was no hurt in asking.

"Hey, Alice, did you get my message?" I asked slowly, nervously.

My small friends eyebrows furrowed together in thought before she shook her head. "Nope," she replied. "What did you need?"

I bit my lip. "Well, Edward and I were wondering if you could watch Lucy and Jackson overnight. We were hoping to spend some time alone, and it's kind of hard to do when you have kids. I understand if you don't want to or you feel too sick, but I thought I'd ask," I rambled, not looking into Alice's eyes as I spoke.

When I did finally meet Alice's gaze, she was smirking. "Of course I will, Bella. Jasper will help me and I will probably be better by then. I just need water and coffee. When do you want me to pick them up?" she asked.

I shrugged. Honestly, Edward and I hadn't thought that far ahead. "Um, let me text Edward. I'll get back to you. I'm going to go join Jessica now, though. I should've been out there five minutes ago."

Alice nodded. "I should fire your ass for that. socializing on the job," she teased. "Alright, just let me know before noon so I can ask Jasper and ask Esme for help kid proofing my apartment."

I nodded with a smile before exiting the break room, already pulling out my cell as I headed toward the checkout counter.

The day passed slowly. We hardly had any customers and most of the time, they didn't even want our help until they needed a dressing room.

Edward had responded pretty quickly to my text, telling me that nine would be a good time and that we could drop them off at her place. I quickly called Alice from the front phone to tell her and she agreed that nine would be great since the store closed at eight.

Mike sent me a text as well and I lied to him, saying that I wasn't doing anything tonight and that Lucy would be with me. He would totally flip if he found out that Lucy was spending the night at Alice's. Yeah, he didn't mind when Angela watched her, but he wouldn't be too keen on her sleeping somewhere besides my house or his apartment.

Jessica chattered at me throughout the day, talking about some bad experience she had at a nail salon a few weeks ago. Jessica was a nice girl, but some of the crap she talked about held no interest for me. Still, she was funny and she helped pass time.

A group of teenage girls came in the store at about 3:30. I spent my last half hour eavesdropping while I folded the shit they messed up in their tour around the store. They didn't even try anything on or buy anything. It really pissed me off.

Maria clocked in as I was gathering my purse. "So, how was Halloween for you?" she asked.

"It was good. Fun. How was the frat party?" I questioned with a smile, pulling my keys from my purse.

She shrugged. "It was kind of lame. It was basically like any other frat party, except everyone was dressed up like idiots," she responded before bidding me goodbye and heading toward the front.

I stopped in front of Alice's office and knocked on the door. I heard her voice ask me to come in from the other side. I opened the door and my eyes widened at Alice's appearance. She looked fantastic. Her hair and make up all fixed and making her look like a rock star once again.

I blinked a few times, still surprised at Alice's radical change in appearance. "Um, so is Jasper helping you out tonight?" I asked finally.

Alice nodded. "He said he would. Hopefully he will actually be useful. I don't know how much he knows about kids," she murmured, signing a piece of paper on her desk.

"Well, I guess we will see you tonight, then."

She smiled and nodded again. "Yes, and Bella, it will be fine. I've used to baby-sit for cash when I was younger. I have references if you want them," she said, putting her pen down and staring at me.

I shook my head. "I trust you, I just, I guess I'm nervous about tonight," I admitted.

"Don't be nervous. Edward is a gentleman. He won't push you into doing something you're not ready for," Alice assured me, rising from her desk chair and enveloping me into a hug.

I smiled at her before nodding. She was right. Edward wasn't going to make me do things. If anything, he'd be the one hesitant about doing anything to me.

"Alright, I'll see you later, Alice. Have a good rest of your shift."

When I arrived back at home, I found Rose and Lucy sitting in the living room attempting to play a game of Go Fish, but I knew how difficult it was for my daughter. She would still sometimes get her colors mixed up and ask for the wrong cards.

Lucy threw her cards down when she noticed me enter, running towards me and wrapping her arms around my legs. "Hi mommy!" she squealed.

I set my bag down and scooped her up, grinning from ear to ear. "How was your day, baby? Did Uncle Emmy and Auntie Rose watch you?"

Lucy nodded. "We had fun! Emmy made me grilled cheese and Rosie and I played cards. I win two games!"

"Wow, good job, Lucy. You're getting better," I said before setting her back down. Emmett emerged from the kitchen a moment later.

Lucy returned to playing Go Fish with Rose while I explained the plans for tonight to Emmett. It was kind of embarrassing telling my brother that I would be sleeping at my boyfriend's house, but surprisingly, he didn't tease me. Instead, he shot a look at Rose and waggled his eyebrows. I made a fake gagging sound, telling in a whisper to stay out of my and Lucy's rooms.

Once Lucy was tired of cards, she headed up to her room to play with her dolls with Emmett, who had been begged to play with her.

Rose helped me start on dinner. We were having steaks and baked potato. Rose seasoned the steaks while I rolled the potatoes in aluminum foil and placed them in the toaster oven, setting the timer. Rose put the steaks in a plastic baggie and placed them in the refrigerator so they could marinade until Emmett was ready to cook them on the grill out on the back porch.

She then helped me cut apple and pear slices, putting them in the refrigerator as well.

"So, I hear your spending the night with Edward," she began, glancing at me as we cleaned up the kitchen a bit.

I blushed and nodded. "Yeah, Alice is watching Lucy and Jackson. It should be fun," I said awkwardly.

"Well, after dinner, if you want, I could help you get ready," she offered, putting the aluminum foil back into its drawer.

I bit my lip before nodding. "That would be great, actually. I have no idea what I should wear. I mean, we aren't doing dinner."

"What are you doing then?"

I blushed. "I have no idea. Edward hasn't told me what he has planned."

Rose smirked. "Well, we can just do something casual, but not too casual. Don't worry, it will be fine. Plus, you receive a ton of packages from Alice the other day. I forgot to tell you."

My eyes widened. "What? How many?"

"Um, like maybe ten," Rose replied.

I grabbed the counter for support. "What? Why would she do that? What is in them?"

"Well, the boxes say a whole bunch of different store names, so I assume they are clothes. There is a letter too. I didn't open them though, so I'm not sure."

"Where are they?" I asked, staring at the tiled floor.

"Emmett and I put them in the closet."

Almost immediately, I stalked out of the kitchen and toward the closet by the front door. I took a deep breath before opening the door and my eyes landed on the damn boxes. I grabbed the closest one to me and tore open the box to find about six shirts inside. I groaned and pushed the tops back in the box.

"Maybe you should read the letter," Rose suggested when she arrived at my side. She dangled the purple envelop in front of me. I snatched the thing from her hands and ripped the envelope open much like how I tore open the box.

Inside was a folder piece of purple patterned stationary.

_Bella,_

_I know you are going to be insanely pissed about this, but you really needed some new clothes. Yeah, some of the stuff is for you to wear to work, but a lot of it is for dates with my cousin and just to wear around. I already instructed the stores to not return any of the items. They will fit, too. Anyway, you're welcome. _

_Love, Alice_

I glared at my friend's messy handwriting before letting out a sigh. "Alice is really one of a kind."

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

I arrived at Bella's place at 8:45, Jackson strapped into his new booster seat in the back, excited that he would get to play with Alice and see Lucy again.

Once I had the car parked, I helped Jackson out of the booster seat and held his hand as we walked to the door. I lifted Jackson up so he could ring the doorbell and we waited on the stoop for someone to answer the door.

Emmett greeted us with a smile and ushered us in, saying that Lucy was still packing for her sleepover.

Jackson and I seated ourselves on the couch while Emmett sat on the other couch, turning up the volume of the basketball game on the TV.

Jackson gazed at the TV screen, trying to figure out what was going on. He wasn't really into sports yet, but he tried to understand what was going on.

Rosalie came down the stairs a few minutes later and sat down next to Emmett.

"They will be down in a few. Lucy wanted to pack like twenty stuffed animals."

Moments after Rose spoke, I heard two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs before Bella and Lucy emerged. Lucy was decked out in Disney Princess pajamas and holding a miniature suitcase in one hand. Bella stood next to her, dressed in a striped sweater dress, leggings and boots. She looked stunning.

"Hi, Edward," Lucy greeted me first in her sweet high voice.

I grinned at her, ruffling her hair. "Hey Lucy. Nice PJs. You excited to have a sleepover with Alice and Jackson?"

Lucy nodded before making her way over to Jackson, my attention now fully focused on her mother.

"You look beautiful," I told her, appraising her slender body.

She blushed and smiled at me. "You do too."

Once we had bid Rosalie and Emmett goodbye, we buckled the kids up in my car and headed towards Alice's apartment building. Jackson actually fell asleep on the way there and I had to carry him up to Alice's floor while Bella held Lucy's hand on the way up.

Jackson awoke at the sound of my hand knocking on Alice's door. My cousin answered the door almost immediately. She looked way to excited to baby-sit some kids, but it was better then having some baby sitter that hated kids watching our children.

Bella and I smiled warmly at Alice. "How are you doing, Alice?" I asked as she stepped aside and let us in. As Alice closed the door, Jasper walked towards us. I shook his hand quickly, in that weird man way. I silently wondered how much experience Jasper had with kids, but I wasn't too worried. Alice knew what she was doing.

Bella began explaining all that Lucy needed before bed and in the morning. I just told my cousin to have fun.

"Just call me if you need anything," Bella said as we headed back towards the door.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yes, Bella. I will call you if I have any questions. Don't worry, just have a good time."

I chuckled as I opened the door and practically pushed Bella out into the hallway. She had already said goodbye to Lucy, and honestly, I was really looking forward to our alone time. I didn't want to waste any time at Alice's.

I pretty much had to drag Bella out of the apartment and back to my Volvo. She really hated leaving Lucy anywhere, especially overnight.

Once we were on the road, Bella calmed down some and began examining the surroundings, trying to figure out where we were going.

"So, what are the plans for the night?" she asked.

I smirked. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Bella pouted, but didn't protest to my secretive plans. Instead, she simply reached for my hand across the center console and sat quietly as I maneuvered the car through traffic.

When I started to slow down to pull into our destination, Bella looked over at me with a confused expression, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Your apartment?" she asked as I pulled into the parking garage.

I nodded. "I figured the best place to be totally alone, was there. I'm not trying to be presumptuous or anything. I mean, I did make dinner for us."

She looked at me for a moment while I parked before nodding her head. "Alright, I trust you. Let's go have this yummy dinner," she said with a grin, hopping out of the car.

After we entered the apartment, Bella basically attacked me once she noticed the little picnic I had set up for us in the living room.

Honestly, I didn't mind her lips attacking mine, but I really didn't want her to think that was all I had brought her here for, and to at least give her a nice dinner.

Once I was able to pull away from her delectable lips, I went to the kitchen to dish up our meal. Bella tried to help, but I basically banished her from the kitchen, telling her I wanted to do this for her.

When I entered the living room a few minutes later, Bella was sitting on the picnic blanket with her cell phone out. When she noticed me enter the room, she quickly snapped the device shut and smiled at me all innocently. I chuckled as I sat the plates down on the blanket.

"Sorry," she began. "I was just checking up on Alice. You know, seeing if she was having any trouble."

I smiled gently. "It's fine. What did Alice say?"

Bella bit her lip, glancing down before meeting my eyes. "She told me to shut the fuck up and leave her alone."

I barked out a laugh as I settled down across the blanket from her. "Sounds like Alice," I commented, pouring her a glass of wine.

"Busting out the wine, eh? Trying to get me drunk?" she teased cutting up her lemon chicken and smirking.

I shrugged and smiled. "Perhaps."

Bella giggled and rolled her eyes at me, taking a bite of her food. She closed her eyes and hummed in contentment. The sound and visual made my cock throb in my pants. I looked down at my plate to try to get myself under control.

"So, when I got home today," Bella began, "I found that Alice had bought me a ton of clothes, including the ones I have on now, and I basically can't return them,"

I chuckled before taking a sip of my drink. "She does that to me all the time, Bella. You'd better get used to it," I told her.

The rest of dinner was pleasant and enjoyable. Bella was able to resist checking her phone for a whole thirty minutes and she even asked me for the recipe for the chicken! Isn't that the biggest compliment a woman could give a man, besides complementing them on the size of their dick or how great they are in bed?

After I cleaned up our picnic area, we found ourselves on my living room couch, listening to soft music and playing with each other's hands.

"So, are you having a good time tonight?" I asked lamely.

Bella bit her lip and nodded. "I'm having a wonderful time," she said, " but I think it could be better."

I was about to ask her how it could be better, but she interrupted my train of thought my climbing on my lap. My eyes widened as I watched her adjust her clothing as she straddled my thighs, smirking deviously as she did.

"Much better," she murmured before covering my gaping mouth with her lips.

The kiss started out slow as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I was pretty much too shocked to move anything but my lips and tongue until she ran her nails over my shirt covered chest. Something snapped in me, and I gripped her hips and ground her against my now very prominent erection. We both let out soft moans at the wonderful friction.

Our tongues were now in full out battle mode as our kisses became more passionate as we continued to rub against one another. Eventually, I threw Bella on her back on the couch cushions and hovered over her, studying her beautiful, flushed face before resuming our kissing. Bella quickly opened her thighs, her dress riding up to her hips, before pulling me down to settle between them.

Bella's hands roamed over my back as my lips left her mouth and trailed down her neck, her breathing labored the entire time. I pressed my erection against her clothed sex and almost came when she fucking whimpered. I repeated the movement, earning another delicious whimper from Bella.

"Fuck, Edward! Touch me!" she gasped.

I drug my lips back up her neck to her ear. "Where?" I asked, my voice sounding breathless.

Bella cried out when I ground myself against her again. "Jesus, uh, anywhere, just fucking touch me!"

My lips found hers again and I kissed her passionately, lifting one hand that had been resting beside her body and caressing her neck lightly.

Bella growled. "Fuck, not there." She took my hand in hers and brought it down to one of her breasts, planting it there firmly. I blinked and stared at her for a moment, before her mouth was attacking mine again, her legs wrapping around my waist, kicking my ass once to urge me to continue my movements.

I thrust my hips forward, the hand on her breast squeezing and teasing her nipple that was pebbling under the fabric of the sweater dress she was wearing. I continued my hip movements, Bella meeting me with her own thrusts as my hands assaulted her breasts.

By now, we were both fucking close. Finally being with Bella like this and not having to wank in the shower was really testing my stamina. By the sounds Bella was making beneath me, I could tell she was close too. Fuck, we were both getting off and we weren't even naked.

"Shit, Edward, I'm so close," she moaned.

I gasped as she bit my earlobe. "Fuck, me too."

Bella's mouth returned to mine as she took my hand from her breast and trailed it down her body, stopping at the promise land and pressed my hand against her sex. "Please," she murmured breathlessly, her hand leaving mine and trailing up my body.

I did as she asked, and rubbed her hot cunt before removing my hand and thrusting against her. Repeating the action over and over.

"Fuck, you're so wet, Bella," I said, feeling her through her tights and panties.

She responded unintelligibly. Grinding against my hand, then my cock.

I was over the edge, but was holding off my orgasm until I got her off. I rubbed her furiously with my fingers, pinching her clit as best as I could through her clothes before replacing my hand with my clothed cock, rubbing against her hard and fast. That did it. For both of us.

Bella let out a high pitch cry while I hissed and whimper obscenities as I came down from the best dry hump I had ever had.

"Fuck," I murmured, gazing down at the wonderful women below me.

"Fuck," she agreed.

* * *

_**A/N: **__I hope all of you are happy with this lemon. I always am nervous about writing them, but I hope you liked it. Sorry for making you wait so long for it! Forgive me? **Please leave a review!** I want to know what you thought. _


	12. Invitation

_**A/N**__: I know, it's been a while, but I had some writer's block. You all seemed to like the lemon in the last chapter, and I'm glad, but this chapter is without a lemon. Unfortunately, it's a filler chapter, but that doesn't make it any less important! It sets up the next chapter! So here is chapter 12. It is called: __**Invitation**__._

_**Disclaimer**__: You know that I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities that may be references or pop culture references mentioned. _

_**Rating:**__ M for language and sexual content._

_

* * *

_**Bella Swan**

I watched Edward as he drove, my mind going over the events of the previous night like a broken record.

After the couch orgasm, Edward carried me to his bed and we just lay there looking at each other for quite some time. Eventually Edward mentioned something about going to bed since it was past midnight and apparently and embarrassingly, I was looking tired.

Once we were both changed into our pajamas, me wearing the plaid bottoms with a t-shirt and Edward looking like a model in just some shorts, we climbed into bed.

It was probably the best nights sleep I had had in months. Plus, being woken up to Edward nuzzling my neck with his arms around me was nice as well.

We now sat in his car, driving to Alice's to pick up our kids. I couldn't stop smiling and neither could Edward. I swear, we looked like cheesy couple in a Volvo commercial.

"Do you think Alice had any trouble?" I asked, deciding to talk instead of continuing our commercial moment.

Edward shrugged. "I'm sure they gave her a little trouble, but Alice can handle anything," he responded, glancing at me briefly before turning his attention back to the road.

After getting stuck at a broken traffic light for ten minutes, we made it to Alice's. Edward, being a good citizen, was just getting off the phone with the police as he reported the traffic light.

Edward had parked and got out of the car before I was even able to take off my seat belt. He opened my door and extended his hand. I blushed at his very sweet gesture and took his hand and allowed him to help me from the car.

"Thanks," I murmured, still holding his hand as we made our way to the Alice's door.

Edward knocked and I bit my lip, just waiting for Alice to open the door and find Lucy had gotten hurt while in her care. Instead, Alice opened the door with a perfectly intact Lucy in her arms and Jackson right behind them. They all looked like they had just woken up.

"Mommy!" Lucy called, her voice indeed sleepy sounding. She reached her arms out to me, so I took her from my petite friend.

Lucy nuzzled her face into my neck, while Alice let Edward and me into her apartment.

"You guys are earlier than I thought you would be. I was just making Mickey Mouse pancakes for the squirts," she said with a pout, leading us into the kitchen to see pancake batter all ready to go in a bowl by the stove.

Edward glanced at me then back at Alice. "If it's alright with Bella, we can stay for pancakes." He looked back at me after he said this, and I nodded in approval. I loved pancakes, and I especially loved them when I wasn't the one making them.

Jackson made a victorious sound next to Edward and I chuckled. Lucy clapped her hands together and giggled.

"Well, if you guys want to go in the living room, you can watch TV or play. Jasper's in the shower right now, but he should be out soon," Alice told us, mixing more batter so she could make pancakes for a bigger crowd.

Jasper strutted in a moment later and kissed Alice on the cheek. His hair was almost a dark brown because it was still sopping wet from his shower. He really was handsome.

He greeted Edward and me before heading to the living room to hang out with the kids. Edward grabbed by hand and tried to drag me to the living room as well, but I stopped him.

"Alice, do you need any help with breakfast?"

She stopped and lifted pour some batter onto the pan. "Get out of here, Bella. I'm fine. Go spend time with your kid," she said turning back to the stove.

I nodded even though she wasn't looking at me and walked with Edward to the living room.

An hour later, we were bidding our goodbyes to Alice and Jasper. I had tried to pay Alice for watching the kids, but she flat out refused my money. So, on the way out the door, I slipped a fifty-dollar bill into her purse.

Once in the car, the kids started falling back asleep in their car seats. Edward and I tried to talk in hushed voices so we wouldn't disturb them.

"So, Alice and Jasper seemed to enjoy their company," I commented, smiling to myself as we stopped at a red light.

He smiled too, and nodded. "Alice has always loved kids, and kids seem to love Alice."

We chatted quietly about Alice and Jasper, how they were probably going to get engaged very early on in their relationship since Alice was spontaneous as hell, and Jasper loved the shit out of her already.

We pulled into my driveway way too soon for my taste. Edward helped me carry Lucy inside and deposited her sleepy little self on the couch. She didn't even stir.

Edward gave me a very sweet and sexy kiss goodbye, making me want to take him upstairs and basically molest him. Unfortunately, he broke the kiss and smiled at me.

"I can't wait to get you alone again," he murmured in a deep, husky voice that could only be described as sex.

I bit my lip and let out a whimper. "Me either."

He kissed me one more time and was about to turn the doorknob before he stopped, dropping his hand and looking at me with furrowed brows.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.

He nervously brought a hand to his hair and started tugging on it. The action distracting me and making me stare at those wonderful hands.

"Um, well, there's this charity event that the magazine is throwing next weekend. We throw it every year, and I hate going because it's a black tie event and dressing up is not my thing," he rambled, looking at the ground. "Anyway, I was hoping that maybe you would want to go. You know, be a supportive girlfriend and be my date."

My eyes widened. Black tie. No fucking way! I hated dressing up. "Um, I'm not sure. Wouldn't I be in the way or something?"

Edward's eyes shot to mine and he quickly took my hands in his. "Of course not. I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't want you there. Bella, I really want you to come."

I bit my lip and blinking a few times before nodding my head. "Sure, I'll come."

Edward broke out into a huge smile. He gave me all the details: black tie (again), seven in the evening next Saturday, he would pick me up at 5:45 so we could get some fancy dinner.

By the time Edward left, my head was reeling. What the hell was expected at these things? Was I supposed to hang on Edward's arm all night while he talked to his co-workers? What the hell was I supposed to wear?

That thought caused me to run upstairs after checking to make sure that Lucy was still sleeping. I went straight to my newly filled closet and dug for anything remotely black tie to wear.

I found a few dresses that I thought might be appropriate when my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered distractedly, looking again at my choices.

"Hey, Bella, it's Alice."

"Alice? I just saw you! What's up?"

"Well, I just got of the phone with my cousin, you know, your boyfriend, and he was telling me that he invited you to the charity event the magazine is hosting!"

My eyebrows knitted together as I sat down on my bed. "He told you this already?" Gosh, he hadn't even left my house more than twenty minutes ago.

"Yeah, he called almost immediately after he left your house. He sounded all giddy and stuff. It was weird," she paused. "Anyway, he wanted me to see if you needed any help with you outfit for that night."

"Well, I have some of the dresses you bought me that could work."

Alice gasped on the other end like I had just told her I was an axe murderer. "Those will NOT work at all, Bella. Those are dressy, but definitely not black tie or appropriate."

I frowned. "Then what the hell am I supposed to wear?"

Alice giggled. "That's why Edward called me. I'll help you. Are you busy later today?"

"No, but I don't have a babysitter for Lucy. Can she come with us shopping?"

"Of course! I'll pick you up at three?"

"Sure, see you then."

We arrived back home around six in the evening. Alice had dragged Lucy and me to every over expensive store, trying on countless dresses, until I found one that looked fabulous at a reasonable price.

When Alice was putting the car into park, I noticed a familiar silver car in my driveway. Edward was here.

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

Even though I had dropped Bella off at her house earlier that day, I missed her like crazy. It didn't help that Jackson kept asking about her and Lucy when we got home. He kept muttering something about Legos and Princesses with Lucy's name mixed in.

I texted her a few times, but she never responded. Maybe Alice had called her like I asked. Maybe she was busy.

After feeding Jackson some lunch, I decided to text Alice.

_Did you talk to Bella about what to wear?_

Less than a minute later, I got a response.

_Taking care of it right now. Bella is difficult. _

I chuckled at her words, not knowing how I should respond.

Jackson and I watched some cartoons. I was trying to distract myself from thinking about Bella by watching the yellow sponge run around on screen, talking in that obnoxious voice.

After the episode ended, Jackson turned to me and pouted.

I raised an eyebrow. "What? Didn't you like the episode?"

"Can I play with Lucy?" he asked, ignoring my question altogether.

"I don't know what she's up to, so probably not, sorry. I would like to play with her and her mom too," I replied. So much for distracting myself.

"Can't you call her or something, Daddy?"

I sighed. "I tried texting her, but she wouldn't answer."

"Did you try Emmett? He's funny," Jackson said, smiling to himself, probably thinking about the crazy guy that was Bella's brother.

"I guess," I murmured, pulling out my phone and locating Emmett's number. This conversation was probably going to be odd. I hadn't really talked to Emmett much, but had his number anyway. Oh well, I would face the awkwardness.

He answered after two rings.

"Hey, Emmett. This is Edward Cullen."

I heard Emmett chuckle. "Yeah, I know, I have caller ID. What's up, Eddie?"

I decided to ignore the fact that he called me Eddie just this once. "Well, my son is wondering about Lucy, and I'm curious about Bella. Are they home?"

I heard him chuckle again. "Well, unfortunately they are at the mall with your cousin. They left me a note saying they should be back by five or so. Did you want to come over and wait for them?" he asked.

I thought for a moment, glancing down at my very hopeful looking son. "Uh, yeah, that would be great. We'll be there in fifteen."

After ending the call with Emmett, Jackson was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. He started gathering toys in a little duffle bag to take. I had to stop him when he started grabbing his mini white board that happened to be attached to his door.

"What do you need this for?" I asked, blocking the white board with my body.

"I don't know. I thought Lucy might find it fun."

"Jackson, it's attached to your door. You can't take that."

He pouted before nodding and zipping up his bag.

I helped him put on his sneakers and jacket, and after getting into mine, we headed out the door.

The entire drive to Bella's, Jackson chattered away about Lucy and what he planned on doing when we got there. I tried to follow what he was saying, but he was jumping around too much, so I just nodded and smiled at him.

Bella's car was in the driveway when we pulled in. I smiled while helping Jackson out of the car, and while we walked up the steps to the door. Emmett opened it before I could even knock.

"Hey guys, Bella and Lucy aren't here yet, but they should be here soon." He moved out of the way to let us through.

I tried to keep the frown from taking over my face as we walked inside. I was hoping she'd be home. I mean, her car was in the driveway.

"I thought she was home," I commented, "her car was in the driveway."

"They took Alice's car. It's all in the note," he explained, holding out a small piece of paper. I took it from him and began to read.

_Em,_

_Lucy and I went shopping with Alice. She picked us up around three and we should be home by five for dinner. If Rose is coming over, unthaw another steak, please. Keep out of trouble. _

_Love,_

_Bella and Lucy_

I smiled at her note. She was such a mom. She actually treated Emmett like an extra kid.

Jackson, Emmett, and I watched TV while we waited. Luckily, Emmett changed to some kid-friendly show so Jackson wouldn't get bored.

Around six, I heard a car door open and close. Jackson must have heard it too, because he sat up straighter and looked toward the door. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Bella and Lucy walked in. Bella let go of her daughter's hand, the other hand holding onto a garment bag with what I assumed was the dress she chose for the charity event.

Just seeing the bag with the hanger sticking out of the top had me looking forward to next weekend. I now couldn't wait to see Bella in formal ware, all made up and looking gorgeous.

"Hey!" she said happily. "What are you doing here?"

I smirked and gestured to my son who was now showing Lucy some game on the Leap Frog system my mother had gotten him last Christmas.

I took a step closer to her. "Jackson missed your daughter," I paused. "And I missed you." I planted a kiss on her cheek to emphasize the point.

Bella blushed and Emmett started laughing at her.

"I missed you too," she said softly. "Um, let me put this away." She gestured to the garment bag and quickly made an escape.

She was about to head up the stairs when she stopped and gave me the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

* * *

_**A/N: Oh fluff. Isn't it adorable? Again, sorry for the lateness of this chapter, but writers block sucks. Anyway, next chapter will be the charity event and maybe things will get lemony and probably fluffy. Okay, leave reviews? I love to know what you think of this little story here.**_

_**Here are some fic recs:**_

_**(Just take out the [DOT] and replace with the actual . to get to link. )**_

_**First Edition by lambcullen**_

_**This story rocks. It's got mommybella and bookstoreward. Bella goes to a bookstore every week and Edward watches her. Unknown to him, she is watching him too. Rated M for a reason. **_

_**http:/www[DOT]fanfiction[DOT]net/s/5541047/1/First_Edition**_

_**The Weight of Words by georgeygirl**_

_**Edward is a TA in Bella's Shakespeare class and is not allowed to date the students. Of course, they are way too attracted to each other. **_

_**http:/www[DOT]fanfiction[DOT]net/s/5463683/1/The_Weight_of_Words**_

_**The Blizzard by sheviking**_

_**Bella brings in a young and gorgeous homeless Edward one snowy night. He is a mute and was in the army. They become close really quick. **_

_**http:/www[DOT]fanfiction[DOT]net/s/5838482/1/The_Blizzard**_


	13. Authors Note

Unfortunately, this isn't an update, and I know you all are waiting for one, but I don't know what to do. I just don't feel like writing anymore, even if I do love this story. Honestly, I prefer to read fanfics more than I like writing them now. So basically, what I'm saying is, I think I might have to quit. I really tried to write more, but I'm just coming up blank. If anyone wants to adopt this story, send me a PM or something and I will consider it. I'm probably going to be very picky about who I let take this story over, and will insist on being the beta reader and I will want to help with the storyline so it doesn't go into some crazy direction. I know some of you will be angry about this and probably won't read the rest of the story if someone decides to finish it for me, but I will be helping with the story...I just can't write it anymore. So, is anyone up to the challenge?

- kfoster2519


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